The Hunter's Mark
by TheTrickster'sFavoriteIllusion
Summary: Prince Castiel must find love by his 25th birthday. He has the help of the angel Anael who tells him that he shares a strong bond with a man who has been marked as his since birth with a scar in the shape of a hand print that with fit his hand perfectly, but by the time he learns this, his birthday is just months away, but he also learns his love is closer than he might think.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Prince Castiel knew why he was called to see his father. It was almost time for him to marry. Like the rest of his brothers, Castiel had until his twenty fifth birthday to find his 'true love'. If that didn't happen, his father strengthened the ties between kingdoms by marrying them off. Michael, his oldest brother and heir to the royal throne, had not tried to find love. He had accepted an arranged marriage with Prince Adam from the Milligan royal family, who ruled over the Neighboring kingdom. He had been lucky enough that he had actually married someone he found he cared for. Lucifer, the next in line after Michael, Had refused to marry at all, and opted to renounce his royal name and become a highwayman. His gang of thugs roamed the kingdoms stealing and pillaging as they pleased. From what Castiel had gathered, Lucifer was actually becoming something of a problem, but that's not what his meeting today was about. No, he was meeting with his father to discuss who he would marry if he did not find the person he considered his true love by his birthday, which was less than six months away.

As he walked, Castiel thought of the times he used to pray as a child. He had prayed that he would know his true love when he met them, but as he grew older, he had not even found anyone that he was even remotely interested in courting, let alone marrying. Even as a child, the prince had been content with his solitude. He preferred reading a book, or looking up at the sky, his deep blue eyes squinted slightly as he was a particular cloud move and his head tilted to the side, to the loud and crass nature that other children his age displayed. Castiel really only had one true friend. A prince named Gabriel from the Norse royal family, the rulers of a small kingdom that shared the Novak kingdom's southern border. Gabriel was not like Castiel, the two were almost exact opposites. Gabriel was loud, social, and something of a trickster. The two balanced each other, but even with Castiel as the voice of reason, Gabriel still managed to get the both of them into trouble, often because he would pull an oblivious Castiel in to be his Unwitting accomplice. Usually, the people Gabriel pranked deserved it. They were cruel or rude, so Gabriel decided to take them down a notch. Just Desserts is what he called it when retelling the tales to Castiel. Royal punishment is what he called it when he got caught, and then later he would snicker to Castiel about 'the perks of the job'. A reference Castiel didn't understand.

Castiel was snapped out of his thoughts and back to the present as he noticed the door to his father's personal chambers at the end of the hall. He reached the door and took a moment to collect himself before knocking. There was a muffled 'Enter' from inside. The dark haired prince sighed quietly and did as he was told. He closed the door quietly and moved silently to stand in from of his father, who sat in his favorite armchair in the center of the room. Castiel bowed deeply before fixing his gaze on the king.

"You sent for me, Father?"

"Yes, Castiel, and I assume you know why I have."

The youngest prince nodded solemnly, ''You wanted to discuss my upcoming birthday."

"Exactly." The King nodded and gestured for his youngest son to sit in the armchair across from his, "Have you found anyone you wish to marry, My Son?"

Castiel shook his head in response as he sat.

"I didn't think so, but I believe you will be pleased with who I have chosen for you to wed."

"Who would that be, Father?" Castiel was confused, and it showed in the way he squinted at his father and tilted his head to one side, giving him an expression that somewhat resembled a confused puppy.

"I know you have become a rather good friend of Prince Gabriel-"

"You do not wish for me to marry Gabriel do you?" Castiel interrupted his father.

The king laughed, "No, Castiel, Gabriel has made it quite clear that he does not want to marry, but he has a sister. I believe you have met her."

"Anna, named after the angel Anael." Castiel nodded.

"Yes, her. Her Parents and I believe that this would be a fitting match... A match made between the angel of Thursday and the angel of passion and emotion." The king says with a smile, referencing the angels that both Castiel and Anna were named after.

The Prince nodded slowly, "I get along fairly well with Anna... I believe that I could marry her."

"That is, if you have not found someone you love by your birthday." The King reminded him.

The prince nodded, stood, and then bowed to his father once again, "Before I take my leave... Does Anna know?"

"Not as of yet."

"Then I shall go and inform her myself if that is alright. I wish to tell her in person, and I believe Gabriel should know as well."

"Very well, Castiel. You may leave at once if you please."

Castiel nodded his thanks, bowed once more, and then left to his rooms to pack. He was not looking forward to the next few days before he reached his friend's home.

As he packed, the raven haired prince bowed his head in absent-minded prayer, if he could even call it that. As a child he had prayed so often to this particular angel that she seemed more like an imaginary friend and a celestial being.

"Anael, you are the angel of love and passion, and I have prayed to you many times before." He said quietly, "But you have never answered my prayers and I am beginning to lose faith. I have less than six months before I turn twenty-five, and I feel as if I have wasted my time waiting for you to reveal who my true love is. I have yet to find them and in a few months I am to be married to a girl I do not love. She is sweet, kind, and beautiful, but I do not love her…." The princes paused and took a deep breath, "Please, Anael, let me know my true love when I see them…. Please."

Getting no response after several long, silence filled, moments, the prince finished packing and went to the stables to ready his horse for the short journey ahead of him. What he didn't know, was that his prayer had been heard. Every prayer to Anael had been heard, and she had responded, he just had yet to find out how he would find his love.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for following and special thanks to amichalap for favoriting. If you didn't know this is my first fanfic that I've posted so reviews/any feedback are very welcome. **

**-Aj**

Chapter 2

Bobby's forgery was just as he remembered. Cluttered, but organized, and almost impossibly efficient. Maybe that was why he was the Official blacksmith for the Novak Royal family. Of course, that was just the job that paid the bills. The cantankerous old man was truly a hunter, but as he aged he couldn't put up with the strain of being in the fray any longer. Instead he opted to staying in his shop and arranging papers, supplies, letters, and anything else a hunter would need. If Bobby wasn't around, Dean knew his job would be a hundred times harder.

Dean slid to the ground from the back of his beloved horse, Baby, and ran a calloused hand along her sleek black coat, ignoring the pain that every movement of his arm caused to his ribs. His last hunt had been harder than he had expected, and the Wendigo had almost reached the very town he was trying to protect. And to top it all off, the guards heard the commotion and almost caught him as he rode away. Sure, Dean had a certain reputation in the supernatural world, but to soldiers and guards, he was just a ruffian that had trouble following him wherever he went.

He ran a hand through his short, sandy blonde hair and winced at the movement before stabling Baby in her designated spot in Bobby's stables. As he made his way up to the door, Dean silently thanked Bobby's good fortune at being able to afford privacy in such a crowded city. He knocked on the door loudly, but walked in without waiting for a response.

"Bobby? You in here?"

"Back here, ya Idjit." Came the response from farther back in the house.

Dean made his way back to the old hunter's study and smiled at the sight of the man, who was more of a father to him than his actual dad, leaned back in a chair reading a book in some language he didn't recognize.

"Hey, Bobby." Dean said as the older man stood and pulled him into a hug, causing him to groan, "Watch the ribs, Bobby. Nothing's broken but the other guy did get a couple of good hits in."

"Stop being such a girl." Bobby said fondly as he stepped back to take in Dean's appearance. The hunter had deep bags under his bright green eyes and more than a few noticeable cuts and bruises. "You look like hell, boy."

"That's why I came here. I thought I could crash here for a couple days. Maybe work in the shop and earn some coins before heading out for another hunt after I'm all healed up."

"Course. You're always welcome here."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I know…" He hesitated, "Plus I thought it might be good to see Sammy… How's he holding up?"

Dean hadn't seen his brother in over three years, and he missed him every day, even if the giant did have a brain that was too big and hair that needed a serious trim.

The retired hunter sighed, "He's been doing fine. He's gotten himself a good job at the Castle working in the stables. He says he can sneak into the library from time to time and read, but only in he's careful. I keep telling him one of these day's he's gonna get caught and he's gonna get hanged."

Dean chuckled, "Bobby, if Sammy gets caught by those pansy ass palace guards he deserves to get caught. He'd have gotten so rusty that he would be useless on a hunt even if I could convince him to come back to the life."

"Don't worry about that, Dean. I've been sure to keep him sharp. Plus, you know your brother. Always eating that rabbit food and always exercising. He'll be good to go if he decided to come back, but don't get your hopes up, boy. He's got his mind set on staying here unless Lucifer comes after him again."

Dean cringed inwardly and shook his head, remembering how the former prince had tried to get his baby brother to join him and use his skills as a hunter to create the chaos that swarmed around Lucifer like a biblical plague. When Sam had declined, Lucifer made sure to make Sam's live a living hell, going as far as capturing him and torturing him, trying to get him to say yes, but Dean had saved him just in time. Sam had never had to join Lucifer, but he did have to go into hiding to that the disgraced prince wouldn't be able to find him again.

"Alright, Bobby… Well… I'm gonna go groom Baby and then take a walk around, see if I can't find Sammy. If I can't then I'll probably stop at the tavern and get some pie and ale… Don't wait up."

"Okay, Dean, but don't stay out too late. I expect up and ready to work early tomorrow."

"I never disappoint you when it comes to the forge now do I?" Dean said with a laugh as he sauntered back out the door and into the stables.

The familiar whinny of his baby greeted him as he entered her stall and ran a loving hand across her flank. He worked quickly, but deftly as he removed her saddle and bags, rubbed her down and brushed her coat until it shined. He fed her oats and an apple from his bag before fetching her some fresh water. When he was done he rubbed her soft muzzle after she nudged his arm affectionately. He pushed her nose away gently and smiled at the neigh she threw at him in protest.

"I've taken care of you, and now it's time to take care of me." He said over his shoulder, "I'll be back. I've always come back for you." He chuckled and closed the stable door securely behind him.

The tavern was relatively busy given that it was just after noon and most people were coming in for their midday meal and a drink, but Dean still managed to find an empty table in the corner of the room where he could keep his back to the wall and see everything that went on.

The hunter relaxed after a few swallows of his first ale, brought to him by a particularly friendly barmaid. He, of course, had smiled cockily at her and given her a wink, causing her to blush and giggle before moving away to serve other customers.

Dean wondered whether he could convince this barmaid to spend the night with him sometime while he was in town. If he couldn't it wouldn't be because he wasn't handsome enough for her, that he knew. He knew years of hunting had given him hard muscles and he had never had complaints about his high cheekbones and strong jawline, or his pearly teeth that showed in a flirty smile whenever he thought he had a chance. Even his sandy blonde hair worked on him, even if he did wear it shorter than most. Yes, Dean knew he was handsome, and he took full advantage of that when it came to his… Needs. He didn't care who he found, as long as they were willing to share his bed for the night and then not be offended when he was gone the next morning. It's not that he was a bad guy, he just couldn't afford to get attached to any one person. Not when so many people were out to get him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the barmaid bringing him his order of pie and a fresh mug of ale, both of which he enjoyed in silence after giving the girl another flirty wink, causing her to giggle once more before she moved away again.

When he was done he paid with a few silver coins that he laid on the table before making his way outside. He stepped out the door and blinked rapidly to get used to the bright afternoon sunlight. Before his eyes could adjust he was knocked to the ground in a flurry of limbs and colorful curses. He sat up with a groan, and a sharp pain in his ribs, to see a much shorter man sitting in the dirt next to him. The man looked at him and the first thing Dean noticed was the mischievous smile that played across the man's face. The expression even glinted in his honey colored eyes that matched his slicked back hair.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Dean snapped after getting to his feet.

The man jumped to his feet and grinned. It was at this point that Dean realized how short the man was. He came up to just above Dean's shoulder, but he still smiled confidently.

"Sorry, stranger.'' He laughed and nodded down the road, "But I have to get going. If you want me to apologize formally you can follow me, but I'm in a bit of a rush to get home… Plus.'' The man's eyes shifted to the direction that he came from and he laughed, "You're not going to want to be here for much longer unless you want to get caught in the middle."

"Middle of what?"

"I'll explain later, but you don't want to stay here for much longer unless you want to get caught in the middle."

Dean eyes the stranger wearily but nodded, "Fine. Lead the way."

The man grinned and took off through the crowd, slipping among the people seamlessly, but Dean had no issue keeping up with him. It must have been the years if tracking, or maybe just the fact that he was an intimidating figure when he wanted to be, so people just moved out of his way.

The man lead him deeper and deeper into the village, closer and closer to the castle walls, something that made Dean increasingly weary. When they were right outside the gates Dean put a hand on the man's shoulder.

"What are we doing here?" He demanded.

The man grinned, "I've brought you to my home where I can issue a formal apology to you."

"What? Who are you?"

The stranger smirked and bowed deeply, "Gabriel Norse, at your service."

Dean's eyes went wide with the realization that he had just followed a crowned prince to his home… The Castle. Place where the guards patrolled the most. The Lion's Den.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dean looked down at the honey haired prince and resisted the urge to forcefully wipe the smug smirk off of his face.

"W-why did you bring me here?"

"Why wouldn't I? It's my home and I said I would apologize. "

''But you didn't have to bring me here. You could have just said 'sorry' and then been on your way." Dean grumbled as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, completely unnerved by the amount of guards around them.

"Fine. I'm sorry. I was going to let you ask one favor of me, but since a 'sorry' is all you require then I will just be on my way."

'Wait, hold on. A favor?" Dean asked as an idea popped into his head. ''Could this favor be anything?"

"Within reason, yes."

Dean cleared his throat, "Alright… My brother works as a stable boy in the palace… Take me to see him and you're forgiven."

"That's all?" The prince asked, seeming almost surprised.

The hunter nodded, "Yes. I just wish to see my brother."

"Alright, the stables are just this way."

-Handprint-

Gabriel was out. That left him with Anna. Alone. They sat at a table in the gardens with tea in front of them. Anna was graceful and perfectly at ease as she always was, but Castiel fidgeted uncomfortably. He hadn't told her about their upcoming engagement yet, and he wasn't sure how he was going to approach the subject. He stared down at his tea and chewed on the inside of his cheek to distract himself. He cared for Anna, she was beautiful. Her red hair was long and soft, and it framed her face nicely, accentuating her wide brown eyes, but she was like his sister, his friend, Gabriel's sister. Not his fiancé. Not his future wife.

"Castiel?" Anna said softly.

Blue eyes snapped to attention and fixed their gaze on her, "Yes, Anna?"

"You seem… Distracted. Are you alright?" She tilted her head and stared at him with warmth and kindness in her eyes that made him feel even more conflict. He didn't want a loveless marriage, but unless he miraculously finds his love it seemed like that's how it was going to be. He did care for Anna, but he didn't love her.

"I am distracted. " He sighed. "Anna, you know the arrangement that my parents have for all of their children, and you know that my birthday is only a few months away."

She nodded politely, "Of course I do. I have a gift for you actually."

He forced a weak smile, "Thank you, but my parents have figured that since the two of us get along… They've arranged with your parents for the two of us to be married."

Her eyes widened, "What? They haven't said anything about this to me."

"I know… I asked to tell you myself."

"No, Castiel… You don't understand… My heart belongs to someone else… He's out fetching a ring for me now."

At this news Castiel sat straighter, "Wait…You can't marry me?"

"No… I don't love you… And you don't love me either."

"No, I don't." He smiled genuinely. ''And you are engaged. You can't marry me."

"I'm sorry, Ca-"

She's cut off by a quick kiss to her cheek, "Thank you, Anna. You are evidence that the angels are listening to my prayers from time to time."

Anna laughed daintily, and then tilted her head as if listening. After a few moments she nods and the relieved prince hears her whisper a quiet 'Yes' before a bright white light flashed towards Anna and entered into her.

"Anna? Anna are you alright?" Castiel murmured as the girl slumped against him.

After a few moments Anna opened her eyes and the bright light flowed from her eyes. She blinked until the light faded to her normal brown. She sat up straighter and looked at the prince who stared at her in awe.

"Hello Castiel." Her voice was completely different. It wasn't the usual refined and graceful tones he was used to. It was stronger and full of purpose.

"Anna? Are you alright?"

"Anna's fine. I'm Anael, angel of the Lord. I have always heard your prayers Castiel. Ever since you were a child, I've heard them."

Blue eyes widened in shock, "Y- you are Anael?"

Anna… Anael nodded, "Yes, and your prayers were always full of hope until recently. I know it seems dire now, Castiel, but you must keep heart. Your love is closer than you think."

He frowned, ''Then why haven't I found them yet?"

She smiled and the hard expression that formed when she appeared softened. "Because he has always been on the move, he never stays anywhere long, he has too much to do, but he has business here. He has a reason to stay. You can find him of you look."

The fact that his love was a man did not surprise him. He, like both of his brothers, as well as Gabriel, did not care about gender. What worried him was how he was going to find this man. What if he moved on before he had a chance to find him? Even if he did find the man, how would he know if he was the one that Castiel wanted?

"He's been marked for you. Since birth."

"What?''

"You need not worry, Castiel. Your love is marked. A handprint that will fit yours perfectly is scarred into his shoulder. It has been since he was born, even before you prayed to me."

"Why?"

"Because, the two of you are very rare. You share a bond so strong that I have not seen one nearly as strong in centuries. It's special, and it's my job to make such things flower and bloom.''

Castiel nodded slowly. He wasn't sure he understood, but he accepted. He would be able to find this man if he looked hard enough. He had time, and since Anna was engaged, he had more time than he could have possibly hoped for.

"Anael, this man is here? In this kingdom?"

"In this very castle at this moment, but he won't be here long. He's here simply to find his brother."

"Who is his brother?"

"I cannot do all the work for you, Castiel. You must find your love on your own. I can only make it easier for you to know that he is who you are looking for once you find him."

With that, the light flashed once more and sped off into the sky, leaving the raven haired prince to stare after it in awe.

-Handprint-

Sam sat in the clean hay that he had just spread out in the bottom of a freshly cleaned stall with a book propped against his knees and his floppy brown hair in his eyes. Truth be told, he was hiding. He had done all of his work for the day, but he had also almost gotten caught sneaking out of the library with this latest book. It was a good thing that it was worth it. Sure, it was a lore book, but it was lore on shojos. Alcohol spirits that traders from japan brought with them from time to time unknowingly. Most of the lore on them were in Japanese, so Sam was grateful to have found information on them that was in English.

The stable door creaked open and Sam's head snapped up and he scrambled to his feet. He buried the book in the hay and picked up a pitchfork. He turned his back to the door and pretended to work when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Sammy?"

"Dean?" He turned quickly and saw his brother walking towards him. He took a large step forward and pulled his brother into a tight hug. "What the hell are you doing here? Don't you usually go to Bobby's? Why are you here?"

Before his brother could respond he heard a bright laugh.

"Well, he's being apologized to and this is what he said would earn me his forgiveness, and I can see why."

Sam stepped away from Dean and looked down at the shorter man who's face was blocked by shadow caused by the bright sunlight streaming through the door behind him. Once his eyes adjusted Sam dropped to one knee.

"Your Highness."

The prince rolled his eyes, "Get up, Sasquatch." He said playfully. "I'm just here to escort your brother to you. You could repay me for my kindness though."

"How?"

"You could hug me just like you hugged Dean-o over there. Seeing that made me all jealous." He laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sam flushed red. The crowned prince, Gabriel Norse, was flirting with him.

"Aww, you're so cute when you go all red. You look like a puppy who's not quite sure what to do."

Sam shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. He suddenly wished that his six foot four inch frame was much smaller so that he could curl into a ball and hide from this man who, despite his crooked smile and shining eyes, radiated an indescribable feeling of power and intelligence.

Coming to his rescue, Dean cleared his throat.

"Listen here, ch-" He was cut off by a sharp elbow from Sam. "Excuse me, Your Majesty. I believe that I would like some time alone with my brother. I haven't seen him in three years and we have some lost time to make up for."

Sam could tell that Dean was having a hard time being polite. His brother had always had a problem with authority, but he at least knew well enough to hold his tongue when in front of royalty. He could get away with mouthing off to the guards, but Sam doubted he would be able to get away with insulting a prince in his own castle.

Thankfully, instead of being at Dean's rude beginning, Gabriel just laughed.

"Alright you two. It appears that the Gigantor here has done all of his work already, so you two are free to go whenever you please, but the guards are a little jumpy, so I suggest following me out to the gates."

Sam bit his lip. He couldn't leave the book in the hay overnight. It would get ruined by whatever horse was stabled in that stall, but he didn't want to anger the prince by flaunting the fact that he had broken into the palace library. After a moment of consideration he sighed and held up a finger, indicating that he wanted his brother and the prince to wait while he went back to the last stall and dug the book out from its hiding place. He brushed the stray strands of hay off the cover and out of the pages before sticking the book under his arm. There was no way to conceal the royal seal inlaid into the spine in gold as he walked back to stand in front of the prince and his brother.

The royal eyed the spine of the book and his already smiling mouth twitched slightly, "Well, what is that?"

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and held it out to him, "A book from the royal library… It's mainly about shojos, but it also has some really good information on other Japanese creatures and spirits… It's really rare because it's in English and not many of them are. Most of them are in Japanese because… you know… The creatures are from Japan and…" Sam trailed off when he realized he was rambling and blushed an even brighter red than before. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I broke into the library and stole it…" He held the book out to him, "I apologize."

Gabriel stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing, "You're sorry? Why are you sorry? You got past all the guards without getting caught. You _deserve_ to keep it."

Sam's eyes widened, "What? Really?''

"Sure. You've earned it. Take it, read it, and keep it if you want. If you don't just find me and I'll take it back for you."

"T-thank you, your majesty." Sam stammered in shock.

"Not a problem, Sasquatch, and you know what? Call me Gabe. Now come on. You and your brother need to get out of here. I can see the palace air is making your bro's skin crawl." He said with a laugh as he sauntered out of the stables towards the gates.

The Winchesters shared a glance before jogging after him to keep up. They reached the gates without incident and started their journey back to Bobby's cottage.

As they walk away Prince Gabriel crossed his arms and smirked. He liked them… Well, he liked one of them more than the other. A floppy haired giant that had soulful hazel eyes that shone with intelligence. The other one seemed like he would be more fun to prank. Either way, there was something about Sam that intrigued Gabriel. Something that made him want to learn more.

Once the brothers were out of sight of the castle, Sam looked down at Dean.

"Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy?"

"It's just Sam."

"Whatever, Bitch."

"Jerk. What happened to that thing on your arm? Did you ever figure out what it was?"

"No, but it finally has taken an actual shape instead of just some random splotch."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

The older Winchester shrugged and bunched the short sleeve of his tunic up to show his brother the mark. He was right, it had changed shape. Now it was a handprint, red and raised against his skin like a fresh scar.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you all for the follows/ favorites and all the wonderful reviews. I would like to point out that I don't have a beta and I am terrible at maintaining the same tense, but I do try my best. I'm getting better, so hopefully over time this will no longer be an issue, but as it is now you'll just have to be patient with me. **

Chapter 4

Where was he? Castiel needed to find him. Anael said he was escorting his love to find his brother. He needed to find Gabriel before it was too late. He rushed out into the courtyard and scanned the crowd for the golden head of his friend. He couldn't still be out working on his prank. It had been hours. He had already searched the kitchens in case his friend had been raiding the desserts, but he hadn't been there. Castiel had also looked in his rooms, and even in the room where he knew Gabriel kept his secret sweet stash. He had resorted to rushing around asking anyone if they had seen him. He finally got a break when one of the guards told him he was greeting a visiting prince quietly so that they didn't draw attention to his arrival. Castiel's eyes had gone wide. Was this prince his love? No… Anael had told him that the man he was looking for was searching for his brother. He couldn't know until he found Gabriel.

He finally spotted the back of his friend's head bobbing through the people. He let out a sigh of relief and sprinted towards his friend. He stopped himself before he crashed into the shorter man's side, but just barely.

"Whoa, Cassie. You alright there? You're looking a little flustered." He laughed, but Castiel could see his friend's concern hidden underneath his usual humor.

The flushed prince took a deep breath to collect himself, "Gabriel, I need your assistance."

"With what?" A single eyebrow rose in question, "What's got cool and collected Cassie- bear's feathers all ruffled."

"You were with a man earlier. I ne-"

"I'm with a man now, Cassie."

Castiel stopped himself and looked at the man that stood next to the short prince. This seemed to be the first time he noticed the tall, white-blonde man that looked at him with amusement shining in his ice blue eyes.

"Well, it's good to know that I can make this much impact on a person at first glance." The man, who Castiel remembered was a prince, said. Sarcasm and mirth dripped from his words, even with his accent.

Castiel flushed slightly and bowed, "I apologize for my lack of manners. I'm Prince Castiel Novak of Falinta el Cielo."

"Prince Balthazar Roche." He smirked, "Of La Palaco de Sinteno. Good to meet you, Cassie."

He sighed, "Its Castiel… Gabriel here just enjoys mangling my name as well as everyone else's."

Gabriel pressed a hand over his chest and arranged his face in an expression of mock indignation, "I do not mangle your name, Cassie-bear. I make it better. If I didn't do this you'd just be stuffy Castiel at all times and what fun would that be? I'll tell you what fun that would be. None. That's how much fun that would be. Right, Balthy? Don't you think Cassie, is so much more fun that somber old Castiel?"

The blonde man laughed, "I do think I would enjoy a more fun version of you, Castiel. I do think the two of us could have a lot of fun together."

Gabriel rolled his eyes when he realized that Castiel hadn't understood that the newest member of their group was flirting with him. Instead, Castiel nodded solemnly and look him up and down, finally taking in the sleeveless tunic the man was wearing. He seemed slightly conflicted, torn between what Gabriel thought looked like disappointment and relief.

Gabriel had been right. Castiel was disappointed that he had let the man he was looking for slip away so easily. His friend had been with him, but he wasn't anymore. He must have found his brother. Castiel was also relieved, despite the near miss, because while he believed he could get along with this Prince Balthazar, he did not believe that he could love him. Just like everyone else he had ever met.

"Something you would like to share with the rest of us, Cassie?"

This statement snapped the raven haired prince out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"You look like you might implode if you thought any harder, Darling." Balthazar laughed.

"Oh, I apologize… I was just looking for a man with a handprint scar on his shoulder… And that he was looking for his brother."

Gabriel tilted his head, "Why are you looking for that chucklehead? If anything I'd be looking for his hunk of a brother."

"Wait, you know him?"

'Yeah, I showed him to the stables and then I lead him out of the castle yard. Why?"

"So he's already gone?''

"Yeah, Cassie. Why?"

Castiel sighed, "I was visited by the angel Anael… She said that my true love was a man who had been marked with a handprint on his shoulder that matched my hand…She also told me that he was here… That you were showing him into the castle so that he could find his brother… But since you say he is already gone…" He bit his lip. "She said he didn't stay in one place for too long… I may not be able to find him…"

The shorter prince wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "Castiel, we'll find him. I know his name. I know his brother's name. We can find him."

"What if we do not find him before my birthday? My parents have already tried to wed me to Anna. I was lucky that her heart already belongs to another. I care for her, but he's so close…"

"Well he'll be even closer soon enough. We'll send out some guards to find him. How hard could it be to find one man?" Balthazar chimed in, reminding Castiel of his presence.

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea. I saw him walking around here and I don't think he or his brother would take kindly to having guards showing up at their door."

"Then what do we do?"

"Sam has to come back to work tomorrow. We'll ask him about Dean then. We'll tell him what happened. He's a smart guy. He'll understand."

"No!" Castiel suddenly exclaimed, "He cannot know. Neither of them can. I don't want to force Dean to do anything." He shook his head and looked at Gabriel, "I don't even know what the man looks like. Before a few moments ago I did not even know his name. This could end up not working, so I'd prefer it if he did not know until I know that we will work."

Gabriel nodded, "Makes sense, Cassie. Now that we have this all planned out, calm down. Everything will be fine. Especially since Balthy is here to make sure that Anna gets married before you turn twenty five so that there's no risk of your father making a move too early."

Castiel turned to Balthazar, "You're Anna's fiancé?"

He nodded, '' I may be a shameless flirt, but I will always be hers, and hopefully she'll agree to be mine."

Both Castiel and Gabriel nodded. This was good for two reasons. One, because it would keep Castiel from having to marry Anna, and two, because they knew they didn't have to worry about Balthazar trying to go after Castiel, which is something that concerned Gabriel slightly.

-Handprint-

"Bobby, we're back!" Dean called out as he walked into the older man's home.

"You two idjits are earlier than I thought you'd be, and you didn't end up causing a riot among the guards. You must be learning how to deal with them."

Dean smirked, "Hey, we ran into the crowned prince. We're lucky Sammy didn't get his hand broken for stealing a book. He actually just got to keep the book too. I think the prince has a crush on Sammy."

"What?!" Sam exclaimed, his face flushing red.

"Don't tell me you didn't see him checking you out. He flat out flirted with you too, not to mention he let you keep the book without a hint of anger. Maybe you should give him a shot so that you could get a few good meals, a comfy bed, and a chance to piss of the guards without consequences."

"Dean! I wouldn't… I don't… No. I won't be pimped out to a prince just because you would want me to come save your sorry ass from the guards when you end up pissing them off. Also, I wouldn't just use somebody like that. If I was going to 'give him a shot' as you so eloquently put it, it would be because he's kind, generous, and has a great sense of humor. Not to mention the fact that he has a great ass."

"Yeah? What about the fact that he's Rumpelstiltskin?"

"He's not that short, Dean… He's actually just about average. We're just tall…"

"No, I'm average height and you're a giant."

Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head before looking at Bobby, "So, how are you?"

"Considering I've got you two idjits arguing in my house I'm good. Especially since I've got a case for you." The former hunter said while looking between the two.

Dean perked up at the possibility of a hunt.

"What is it?"

"Well, we think there's a wraith preying on palace servants, but it won't be long before it gets greedy and starts going after the royals themselves. Especially since while you were out I got an order to make a specialized gauntlet and bracelet combo for a newly engaged royal couple who are throwing a party here in two days' time to celebrate."

"So we've got to get this thing before it starts feasting at the banquet." Dean nodded. "We can do that."

"Actually, I have a plan. Sam, you still working as a stable boy?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"See if you can get your prince to let you inside the castle to investigate and find out who the wraith is."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "And then what?"

"And then you kill it. That's how hunting works. You should know that by now you idjit."

Sam chuckled, "He means we have to get to this thing before it starts massacring royals. How do we do it?"

At this, Bobby grinned mischievously. "How do you two feel about crashing an engagement party?"

**AN: If you're curious about the names of the kingdoms Castiel and Balthazar are from, Copy and paste the names into google translate and have it translate them from Esperanto. Hehe, I had way too much fun with them. **


	5. Chapter 5

**(AN: Thank you all for Favoriting/Following my story. It's going a little slowly right now, but I promise it'll pick up soon. The next chapter will definitely be fun for me to write and will most likely be up in a couple of days. This chapter would have been up yesterday if my life hadn't decided to actually be a thing (it normally isn't). Thank you all and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**P.S. Reviews are my favorite breakfast food.)**

Chapter 5

Sam reported to the palace gates the next morning just after the sun graced the horizon so that he wouldn't be late, and got to work. He wanted to finish as early as possible so he could start of his real mission. Getting Prince Gabriel to let him into the castle so he could investigate who the wraith might be disguised as. He went to go see the stable master to get his assignment for the day.

"Sir? Sam Winchester coming for my assignment."

The man turned, "Winchester, the prince has requested to see you in the castle."

Sam's eyes went wide. Why did the prince want to see him? Had he changed his mind about the book? Did he want to punish him? He sighed and looked at his boss.

"Do you know why he wants to see me?"

"No. Just hurry up. He gave me this message yesterday just after he sent you home."

Sam nodded. "Of course, Sir."

With that, he hurried towards the castle gates from his workstation within the common area. He didn't try to sneak, why would he have to this time? If he was in trouble, sneaking and getting caught would only make his situation worse. He made his way into the kitchens and asked if someone could help him find Prince Gabriel's rooms. A serving girl named Rebecca (she told him to call her Becky) gladly led him directly to the prince's door, but not without clinging to his arm the entire way.

Once he pried the girl off of him and sent her on her way, (He did feel a little bad pushing her away so abruptly, but she made him uncomfortable. She just wouldn't stop touching him.) He straightened his tunic and ran a hand through his long(ish) brown hair to try and comb it into place. He took a deep breath and knocked on the ornate dark wood door gently, wondering whether the prince was even awake at this early hour.

His question was soon answered when the door flew open to reveal Prince Gabriel smiling broadly.

"Samsquatch! You made it."

Sam nodded slowly, "Yes, your majesty." He paused and cleared his throat, "Why have you brought me here, sir?"

"Because I like you, Gigantor. You've got attitude, and I like it. I want you to be my manservant."

Sam was shocked. Not only was he not in trouble, he was being made into a castle servant. This would make his research a lot easier, and he would get better treatment, clothes, and he would be moved into the castle. He wouldn't even have to work that hard to get into the ball that was being thrown.

Sam was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the prince trying to get his attention until he felt a hand smack firmly against his left butt cheek.

He yelped and looked down at the grinning man while he tried to keep himself from blushing, "Sorry, your majesty, what was that?"

Gabriel grinned, "I asked you if your brother was coming to the ball. I have a friend who caught a glimpse of him as he was leaving and he took a shining to him. They wish to see him again, even if it is in costume."

Sam frowned, "Costume?"

"The couple has a flair for the dramatic. They plan to pretend that they met each other for the first time at this masquerade ball and he'll propose to her at the end of the night." The prince explained nonchalantly.

"Oh, well I think I could convince him to attend… But how will we get him inside? He's not a royal."

"Just bring him in with you. I'm sure the two of you will need the day to get your costumes in order. I'll see you just before sunset tomorrow."

Sam nodded hurriedly, "Thank you, Prince Gabriel. Thank you so much. May I go inform my brother?"

The honey haired prince smiled. "Of course, Gigantor. You're dismissed."

Sam bowed deeply and rushed out of the room and out of the castle as fast as he could. He made his way back to Bobby's and burst through the door.

"Dean!"

The older brother looked up at him from his spot at the table, "What, Sammy?"

"Not only do I have a way into the castle, no questions asked, I got us both invitations to the engagement ball. One hitch on that one though."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"The engagement ball is a masquerade. To get in we have to get costumes. Costumes worthy of royals."

Dean smirked, "But you can just dress up as anything." He said as he grabbed his bag from the floor

"What's your point, Dean? They're still going to be dressed in silk and satin and everything that we don't have."

"Yes you do, ya idjits." Bobby said from the doorway.

The brothers turned around to stare at their surrogate father.

"What do you mean, Bobby?"

"I heard about the theme of this shindig yesterday and called in a favor with the innkeeper's Daughter, Jo. She's a seamstress and she threw together a couple of costumes for the two of you." The old hunter explained before throwing a bundle of clothes at Dean. "Both costumes come with a mask, so not only will you two fit right in, nobody will recognize you if you get caught wandering around while looking for that damn wraith. "

"It's gonna take forever to find it since I can't go back to do some searching. If I do it'll look suspicious. Gabriel dismissed me until just before the ball tomorrow."

"It'll work out fine, Sam. I've got an old hunting buddy who's in the castle looking for the thing right now. It's a big place and I figured you could use some help, but it looks like he's on his own right now."

Sam nodded, "Hopefully he can find the thing, otherwise this whole job is gonna get a lot harder"

"Don't worry, idjit. Just focus on getting in and out without drawing too much attention to yourself."

"I feel like that's not gonna happen, Bobby." Dean said from where he had been unfurling the bundle of clothes at the table, "Especially if we put Sammy in these." He said hoolding up a pair of dark brown leggings.

Bobby smirked, "Those aren't for Sam."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

The dark haired prince paced back and forth in his friend's room, already dressed in his costume of a loose white silk shirt and black dress trousers that matched the white mask tied around his head. The mask had dark blue and black designs swirling across it that made his blue eyes pop, but that wasn't the main part of his attire. The part that drew attention was the large pair of silky black wings that sprouted out of the back of his shirt. They appeared to be folded tight against his back, but with a simple pull of the straps in his sleeves the prince could extend them out to their full length. He had been working on the rigging for months, simply because he wanted to see if he could create something that complex, and he only worked on them at Gabriel's home because he didn't feel like being ridiculed by his family for dabbling in something so fanciful, but in the moment, the wings lay against his back forgotten in the mess of anxieties that clouded Castiel's brain.

"What if he doesn't like me, Gabriel?" He said to his friend who was still changing behind the screen.

"Oh come on, Cassie. Who could resist you? Especially when you're all dressed up like that."

Castiel shook his head but stopped pacing, "Gabriel, this is not my usual attire. If he likes me purely for what I am wearing, then when we meet outside the party he will hold no attraction towards me."

Gabriel sighed and poked his head around the edge of the screen to look at his friend, "Cassie, you have got to calm down. This dude has been marked since birth as your true love by an angel. You've got nothing to worry about."

The dark haired prince nodded, "You're right... I have simply got to relax…" He said and sat down on the edge of Gabriel's bed, leaning forward so that he wouldn't crush the long feathers of his wings.

"Exactly!" The amber eyed prince exclaimed as he stepped out from behind the screen, finally dressed in his costume of…

"What are you?"

The shorter of the two put a hand over his heart in mock indignation and gasped, "You should know me, Castiel! All should know me!" He yelled dramatically as he picked up a staff that had been leaning against his bed frame, "I am the great Norse trickster! I am the God of mischief! I am the all-powerful Loki!"

Castiel rolled his eyes and looked over his friend's costume, "How is being dressed in black, green, and gold going to portray the fact that you are Loki? Or is the scepter how you plan on getting that fact across?"

"No! It's not the costume that makes the character, Cassie!" Gabriel laughed, "It's the actions of the man that create the character."

"Gabriel, what are you planning?"

"I am not Gabriel! I am the great and powerful Loki!" The enthused prince exclaimed with a flourish that made his cape fly out behind him. He opened his mouth to continue, but to Castiel's eternal gratitude, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

-Handprint-

Once they were inside the castle, Sam and dean had parted ways. Dean went off to find Bobby's old hunting buddy and get information on the wraith, while Sam went to Prince Gabriel's room.

Sam was not comfortable, not in the slightest, but at least both he and his brother had convinced Jo to trade the tights she had made for them in for two sets of trousers which were much more concealing and comfortable (even if they were a bit tight.). No, he was never comfortable when he was in public not wearing a shirt, but Jo had been adamant that he did not need one. He sighed. Why was he dressed as Goliath again? Right, because he just happened to be six foot four inches tall with broad shoulders. He rolled his eyes.

"Goliath would have worn a shirt." He muttered to himself as he fiddled with the leather straps that crossed over his tanned chest and.

He thought back to earlier when he was trying to convince both Jo and Dean to let him have a costume that matched Dean's, but his brother was being possessive pf his hunter's costume. He got the dark brown trousers, a deep green tunic, and a mottled cowl that, if it hadn't been made of silk would have been great for hunting in the woods since it would make him nearly invisible among the foliage. He even got to carry a miniature crossbow and silver bolts as well as several small daggers that he attached to his belt, whereas Sam only got a single dagger that he managed to slip into his boot since, according to Jo, "Goliath wouldn't have a refined weapon like a sword."

The younger Winchester rolled his eyes once again as he reached the Prince's door. He ran a hand through his hair and finally tied the brown and gold mask he had been provided with around his head, wondering if he should knock. He heard muffled voices behind the door, so he knew he would be interrupting something, but the ball would be starting any moment, and the prince had told him to arrive before that happened, so after a few more moment's hesitation, he knocked.

Within seconds the door swung open to reveal the honey haired prince dressed as…

"Your highness… No offense… But what are you?"

Gabriel smirked, "None taken, Samsquatch. I am the Norse god of mischief, Loki! But I could ask you the same thing, not that I'm complaining or anything that even resembles such a thing." The shorter man said as his eyes raked over Sam's form.

Sam flushed red and crossed his arms loosely, trying to force down his embarrassment, "I'm Goliath… and before you ask I was forced into this costume by my ''friend'', Jo and my brother."

At the mention of his brother, Gabriel perked up.

"Speaking of your brother, where is he? My friend here truly does wish to meet him." He said as he stepped aside to gesture towards Castiel, who was on his feet, looking out into the hallway, presumably for Dean.

Sam cleared his throat, "My brother went to go find a friend of his that he found out was also invited. If you out into the party you should be able to find him." He said as he surveyed the dark haired prince that stood in the middle of Gabriel's room. He wondered why someone like him would take an interest in Dean. The guy was definitely his brother's type, but since when did royalty find random peasants attractive? Especially royalty who appeared to have wings.

The taller of the two princes nodded. "Of course, Gabriel will point him out to me, Samuel. You may go and enjoy the ball as you please."

Sam smiled slightly, "Thank you, Prince…"

"Castiel."

"Thank you, Prince Castiel, but it's just Sam." He looked down at Gabriel who nodded.

"Go ahead, Goliath. Have fun."

Sam nodded and bowed, "Thank you. I'll see the two of you at the ball."

With that, the young Winchester turned and walked back towards the spot where he last saw his brother. Before he reached that spot he heard Dean call his name. He turned and saw his brother approaching with a man who appeared to be dressed as a Roman gladiator, skirt, helmet, and shield included, despite the fact that he was not built for it.

When the trio came together, the scrawny gladiator smiled, "You must be Sam. I'm Garth, Bobby's hunting buddy."

Sam looked at Dean, and expression of doubt flicking across his face, but his brother just shrugged.

Garth didn't seem to notice the exchange because he simply kept talking.

"Alright you two, I've figured out who the wraith is. I've checked her reflection and everything. She's a kitchen girl who goes by the name of Fiona. She's dressed as a spoon tonight, just like the rest of the kitchen girls who are serving at the ball. I'm guessin' she's gonna go after a couple of royals, usin' the entire night as a distraction, so we've gotta find her before she starts chowin' down. "

Dean nodded and pulled an extra dagger from his belt and handed it to Sam. The taller brother nodded and took the knife gratefully.

"Alright, I suggest we split up and search for her separately. Once one of us finds her we'll follow her and try to take her out. Hopefully the other two will see us leaving and follow in case something goes wrong, but once you see her you can't let her out of your sight, got it?"

The other two hunters nodded and the three split apart, each going their own direction.

-Handprint-

Everyone around him appeared to be drunk, and it sucked because he couldn't. The drunkest of them all seemed to be Sam's new superior, Prince Gabriel, who was wandering around the ball, pranking person after person, despite the fact that he could barely stand upright. Dean swore he had seen everyone at this ball at least twice, except for their wraith, who was doing a very good job of eluding them. Just as he was about to give up and pick up a goblet of wine, a shimmer caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He turned as saw a girl dressed as a spoon leading a man with wings by the hand out of the ballroom. He smirked.

"Gotcha, bitch." He murmured to himself and adjusted the black and green ask he had on so that it wouldn't interfere with his vision when he attacked the wraith.

He followed the wraith and the man silently, using his cape and the shadows to shield himself from their line of sight whenever either one of them glanced over their shoulders. Dean could tell that the wraith's venom was beginning to affect the man because his backward glances became more and more frequent.

When they finally stopped, the man was shaking with fear as the girl murmured quietly to him, reassuring him as the spike sprouted from her wrist. As she pulled her arm back to impale the man behind the ear, dear grabbed her wrist and stabbed her once, directly in the heart. She screeched, but the noise was dampened by Dean's hand that he had moved from her wrist to cover her mouth as she crumpled against him, the life leaving her eyes. Dean turned to the man who was frozen with terror against the wall, his blue eyes wide.

Dean tucked his knife back to its spot on his belt and reached out to see if the man was alright, but as soon as Dean laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, the man jerked away. He stumbled and fell. Dean tried to catch him, but instead he grasped a set of straps that extended from his sleeves. As the man fell, the wings that Dean had noticed earlier flew open. When he hit the ground, the wings were spread out behind him perfectly, making him look like a fallen angel, peaceful in sleep.

Dean knelt down next to the man and felt his pulse. It was hurried and erratic, but definitely there. He would be fine once he woke up. Dean stood when he heard people approaching behind him. Sam surveyed the scene and looked at the unconscious man.

"That's Prince Castiel… Is he de-"

"He's alive. He just knocked himself out when he fell."

Sam nodded and opened his mouth to respond when he heard another set of footsteps approaching from behind them.

"Cassie? You here, buddy?"

Sam's eyes widened and he turned to face Gabriel. Dean came to stand next to him so that they could attempt to hide Castiel's prone form from his friend, but it was too late. Gabriel had already seen his friend passed out on the floor.

The prince looked at the two men accusingly, "What did you do to, Cassie?"

Sam stepped forward and bit his lip, "Gabriel, your highness, it would be best if we didn't discuss this here… we should go to your rooms… Prince Castiel will be fine…. But we have a lot of explaining to do…"

-Handprint-

Castiel was terrified. This woman who had seemed so helpful was going to kill him. She had promised to help him find Sam's brother, but the farther she led him away from the ballroom, the more terrified he became. After a while his mind went blank and he hardly comprehended what he was seeing. He was only faintly aware of what was happening around him, but he did notice when the woman disappeared, because his mind had begun to clear, but his heart was still beating rapidly in his chest. When he felt a new presence touch his shoulder he jolted back to reality, but his vision was still fuzzy. The only thing he processed in his addled state was that someone had saved him, and this someone, whoever they were, had the most amazing green eyes he had ever seen.

**(AN: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It was really fun to write and I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter as well. **

**Aj **

**Ps. Reviews are my favorite junk food.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**(AN: Sorry this chapter took a little longer than usual for me to crank out. My brother and his wife came over for the weekend so between that and a mild case of writer's block (which was thankfully very easy to clear up once got my sister-in-law to be a sounding board for me) it has been a surprisingly difficult chapter to write. Especially since I wanted it to be perfect.**

**PS. I love the reviews I'm getting, you guy are great, but just so you know, "Loving Review" Is my favorite ice cream flavor.**

**-Aj)**

Chapter seven

The world was dark and his head was throbbing. He cracked his eyes open, but immediately shut them again when a stabbing pain shot through his head because of the faint light that filtered through his eyelashes. He groaned and raised his hands to cover his eyes. His limbs felt like lead, but he managed to cover his face before he heard a faint chuckle.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Cassie. After all you drank last night I didn't think it would happen so soon." He heard Gabriel shout from somewhere across the room.

The dark haired prince groaned and rolled over to bury his face in what he assumed was the blankets that covered Gabriel's bed. "Do you ever shut up?"

"NO!" The honey-haired prince yelled even louder than before.

In response, Castiel threw a pillow in the direction of his friend's voice, his face still buried in the blankets.

-Handprint-

Gabriel sighed. Sam and Dean had explained what had happened the night before after helping him get back to his room with Castiel. Once he had explained to Dean that all he had to do was loosen the rigging's straps to have the wings retract, the elder hunter did just that before he scooped the young prince into his arms. Gabriel led both of the hunter back to his room while he leaned against Sam. Gabriel knew how to hold his liquor, but that night he had had a little… A lot too much to drink, plus he wanted an excuse to lean against the shirtless giant without causing too much suspicion.

He hated lying to his friend, but he doubted that Castiel would believe him even if he did tell the younger prince the truth. The man believed in angels and true loves who are marked with a handprint, but Gabriel highly doubted that his friend would believe that he had been attacked by a wraith. Especially since the two brothers had left the room shortly after explaining to go fetch the third member of their hunting party so that they could take care of the wraith's body, whatever that meant, and they couldn't explain to Cassie the same way they had to Gabriel. (Their way of explaining had to do with Sam pointing out the scars across his bare chest and back and explaining the different monsters that had given them to him. Dean had lifted the edge of his tunic to show him a set of three parallel scars running down his side that he said had come from something called a wendigo. The evidence had made it very hard to doubt them.)

He looked over at Castiel laying on his stomach on the bed. The young prince had passed out again after the short exchange they had had earlier, but Sam had said that that was normal and that he would be fine after the wraith's venom wore off. Dean had also said that with the amount of venom she had let go into his system that Cas (as Dean called him) would most likely be out for most of the day, if not more. Sam had promised that they would come back just before dark the next day after the wraith's body was gone, but until then, he made Gabriel promise not to tell Castiel what had happened to him. Because of this, Gabriel also hadn't mentioned the fact that Dean may or may not have a bond with his best friend that was strong enough to gain the attention of the angel of love and passion, and because of this bond, he had been marked since birth with a handprint on his shoulder that would fit the blue-eyed prince's hand perfectly.

-Handprint-

Dean stood next to his brother watching the flames flicker up from the pit that held the wraith's body. They had deposited both of the princes in Gabriel's rooms then went to go find Garth. They had found the scrawny hunter completely drunk in the middle of the ballroom floor, dancing with some handmaiden that was intoxicated enough not to realize that she was way out of his league. They informed him that Dean had found and killed the wraith. He had offered to go help them, but they realized that he would be of no use when he was that drunk, so they had let him go back to his handmaiden.

They carried the wraith's body back to Bobby's so that they could change back to their usual clothes before they took the creature out to the middle of the woods outside of the village and dug the pit they now stood in front of. It had been hard work, but once they had stopped moving, the thin sheen of sweat that covered their bodies cooled quickly, causing the brothers to huddle closer to the roaring flames. The smoke smelled terrible, but it was a scent that both of them were all too familiar with.

As the flames died down just as the sky turned a pinkish purple color, Dean noticed his brother glancing over at him every few seconds. This meant he wanted to say something, but he was trying to figure out how to word it. Finally, Dean sighed.

"Sammy, spit it out before I assume the worse."

His younger brother shook his head, "It's nothing bad, Dean. I just remembered something."

"Oh, yeah, Sammy? What would that be?" He asked with a smirk, "Is it how idiotic you looked in that stupid costume? Or how Prince Gabriel was an _extremely _handsy drunk that really did enjoy your outfit."

Sam clenched his jaw and tried (but failed) to repress a bright red blush. "No, Dean. I remember that before the party, Gabriel told me that his friend, the one you saved, had seen you leaving the castle after you came to see me, and he had taken a particular interest in meeting you. "

Dean smirked, "So the attractive one wants me, and you're stuck with the dwarf." He chuckled. "I guess your luck just keeps getting worse and worse"

"Gabriel isn't that short. We're both just tall. Plus… I've seen him around the castle and in town. He likes to pretend that all he is is a prankster, but if you study his choice of victims, they're actually bad people who deserve to be punished. Plus, he's very kind to all the servants… At least that's what I've heard."

"Oh God, Sammy, do you actually have a crush on Prince Shortie? Oh that's priceless. You probably enjoyed the attention he was giving you last night then weren't you?"

Sam glared at his brother, "Shut up, Dean. You're the one who doesn't even know the guy you're thinking of jumping because he's shown the slightest interest in you. Even though the only time you've met him is when he was in mortal danger and petrified from wraith venom. Real classy, Dean, but what else should I expect? I mean you're you. You've never had a real relationship. Just one night stands."

Dean smirked, "You say that like it's a bad thing, Sammy."

"It's just Sam."

"You know in our life you can't get attached. Sure, you've gotten mostly out, you can have whatever love affair you want, but a hunter falls for someone and then that person gets hurt. I can't have that."

The younger Winchester just rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Dean. Let's just get this pit covered, go back to Bobby's, wash up, and change, so that we can get this awful smell off of us."

"Yeah." Dean nodded. "Let's get to work then, Sammy."

With that, the brothers picked up their shovels and started filling in the dirt.

-Handprint-

When he woke the second time, there was a soft murmuring coming from approximately where Gabriel's fireplace. If his head had been in the same amount of pain it had been in before, he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, but the throbbing had reduced down to a faint ache, so he could tell that there where at least three voices. One was definitely Gabriel's, another sounded vaguely familiar and he placed it as Gabriel's manservant, Sam, after a few seconds, but the third was new. It was deep and gravelly, but still calming in some weird way.

When he finally cracked his eyes open, the light was much dimmer than before, in fact, there was no sunshine streaming through the windows, just the warm glow from the fire behind him. He rolled over slowly and the voices went quiet.

He looked at the three men before him. Gabriel, Sam, and… The man of his dreams.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The man stood next to Sam, and even though Gabriel's manservant was something of a giant, he still seemed tall. As the prince's eyes roamed over his form, Castiel noticed that the man was incredibly fit. His tunic, though loose, showed the outline of the trim torso that led down to slim hips and bowed legs that were encased in a pair of plain brown trousers. Castiel's eyes made their way back up to the man's face where he found a strong jaw covered in light stubble, before they traveled up to high cheek bones, and finally, he looked into the most brilliant set of green eyes he had ever seen. This man had eyes that could make the women of the court jealous, and they were staring back at him in the same evaluating manor that had been used by the prince just moments before. When the green eyes raised to meet his blue, the men's gazes locked, and Castiel felt a shiver run down his spine.

They stared at each other for several moments until Sam cleared his throat.

"Hey… Uh…Castiel… It's good to see you up and about again, and I see you and Dean are getting along pretty well…"

The young prince nodded before he tore his gaze away from the mean, Dean, his supposed love, to look at Sam. "Yes… I do believe that Dean and I will become very close…" He glanced between the two brothers, unsure if he should tell them that he and Dean shared a bond.

After several long moments of silence, Gabriel smirked. "Cassie, you and Dean are already sooo close. I mean, Dean-o here was practically falling over himself to save you last night, and then, he refused to let anyone carry you back up here. He just wanted to hold you real close and never let go." The prince was exaggerating, and everyone in the room know that, but that didn't stop Dean from clenching his jaw and glaring at the short prince.

"Shut up, Gabriel." Dean growled. "You may be a prince but I will not hesitate to kick your ass."

The prince's amber eyes glittered with mischief as he ducked behind Sam and wrapped his arms around his waist. He poked his head out from behind Sam's back and grinned. "You touch me and I'm releasing my attack moose. He will show no mercy to overly masculine dicks."

Dean's glare intensified, but Castiel could only focus on one thing.

"Gabriel, what do you mean Dean saved me?"

The tension that Gabriel had almost succeeded in banishing came flooding back. Both Winchesters tensed visibly. Gabriel had the sense to release his hold on Sam and walk over to sit next to the younger prince.

"Cassie, you didn't get drunk last night… In fact I'm pretty sure you didn't drink anything because you're no fun at parties, but there is a reason you don't really remember last night."

"What reason would that be, Gabriel?"

"Because you were attacked by a wraith… She tried to kill you. Dean stopped her just before she could, but she still pumped you full of venom. You were paralyzed with fear and you passed out so Dean carried you up here. I would have told you the first time you woke up, but we agreed that it would be better if you had some evidence that all of this was real." He glanced at Sam and Dean, "Without them here I didn't have evidence." Gabriel shrugged and looked at Castiel. "You look like you're taking this alright…"

"Gabriel, you expected me to believe that there are angels that are willing to help me with my love life, but that I wouldn't believe that there are things out there that are very evil things out there willing to try and hurt us?" He shook his head. "Gabriel, it would be ridiculous of me to believe in just the good and not the evil as well."

After he was done speaking, a low chuckle filled the room. Castiel turned and found out that the noise was coming from Dean. His green eyes were sparkling with laughter, and the laughter was coming from deep down in his chest.

"Well, Cas, you've taken this better than I could have ever expected you to. It saves a whole lot of time for us since we don't have to go through the whole 'the truth is out there' speech. Thanks."

Dean's voice was amazing. Castiel had to keep himself from shivering as the deep, but smooth voice floated out towards him. He remembered back to when he first woke up and realized, that if that voice had been soothing when it wasn't directed at him, it made him want to melt when it was. It made him feel warm and slightly dizzy, but grounded and calm at the same time.

He loved it, and he wanted more.

-Handprint-

Dean watched as the prince quietly as he came to his senses, studied him, and took in the information that was presented to him. He was surprisingly calm for someone who just found out that they had almost died, but that just made Dean smile. He hadn't lied to Sam when he had said that he thought that Cas was attractive, but he hadn't been expecting to find the guy's glowing blue eyes to be so damn adorable when he squinted because he was confused. He also hadn't been prepared to deal with the way Cas' voice sent tingles throughout his body and, for some reason, made his shoulder itch. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Dean doubted that. He didn't believe in coincidences… But why would his shoulder… The shoulder with the handprint on it… Why would Cas cause the mark to itch? He was caught in his thoughts, but he tuned in when Cas started to explain why he wasn't completely freaking out, something caught his attention. Angels.

When Cas was done he let out a low chuckle. "Well, Cas, you've taken this better than I could have ever expected you to. It saves a whole lot of time for us since we don't have to go through the whole 'the truth is out there' speech. Thanks."

He studied the other man's reaction, but he appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, so he kept going.

"But, Cas, what was that about angels? You said there were angels willing to help you with your love life? What's that all about?" Dean said, amusement dripping from his voice. "Were you serious about that?"

Cas nodded and bit his bottom lip, causing a rush of warmth to flood through Dean and come to rest at the mark on his shoulder.

"Yes… It is common knowledge that my father has an arrangement with each of his sons. Find the one that you love and you can marry whomever you please, but only if you find them by the age of twenty five. My oldest brother, Michael, was married off, but he ended up with someone that he truly cares about, but Lucifer, the second eldest, refused to marry, he rebelled and renounced his throne…"

"Wait, Lucifer is your brother?" Sam exclaimed, interrupting the prince's explanation.

Cas nodded, "Yes, why?"

Sam shook his head, "Nothing… I've just run into him once or twice… And he's kinda the reason I'm here… and the reason I gave up hunting… Other than the occasional job nearby. He became obsessed with me. Wanted me to join his gang, and I told him no. He made my life a living hell. He stalked me, killed my girlfriend, and tried to kill me, just so that I would say yes… But I got away from him and came here." He shrugged. "It's not a big deal anymore though… Go on, Cas. I interrupted."

Dean watched as Castiel resumed his story.

"Well, it is only a few months until my twenty fifth birthday. Since I was a child I have prayed to the angel of love and passion, Anael, to help me find my true love before it came time for me to be married to someone I didn't love, but my prayers went unanswered for years… Until a few days ago."

Dean spoke up, "What happened a few days ago?"

"Well, I came here to tell Anna, Gabriel's sister, that our parents had arranged for us to be married. Thankfully, she found someone she loved, and now she is engaged, and I have more time."

"What does this have to do with angels?"

"I'm getting to that, Dean, you just have to be patient."

The hunter nodded slowly and crossed his arms. "Okay, Cas. Go ahead. We'll quit interrupting you."

"Thank you, Dean… But…" He tilted his head and squinted slightly, causing Dean to smirk. "Why do you call me Cas? My name is Castiel… Granted, Cas is better than Cassie, but my name is Castiel."

Dean chuckled, "Sorry, but Castiel is kinda a mouthful… So I've decided to call you Cas. If you don't like it you can just cry about it."

His words seemed to have the desired effect when the corners of Castiel's, Cas', mouth twitched upwards into a small smile.

"No, Dean, you may call me Cas… I actually enjoy the nickname."

"Good." He nodded, "Now, can you finish our bed time story?"

"Yes… As I was saying, I had more time, but I had no clue of how to find my true love. I have been searching since my father informed me of the arrangement, but not once have I been able to find someone that I have even been partially interested in. So, I was sitting there with Anna, wondering what I was going to do, when there was a light flashing through the sky. Anna said 'yes' and the light flooded into her body. She collapsed for a few moments, before coming to, and it wasn't Anna anymore… It was the angel, Anael. The one I had been praying to for all these years. She told me not to give up hope and that my love was closer than I thought he was. That I could find him before my birthday, because he had been marked since birth so that I could find him."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "And why would an angel do all of this for you?"

He shrugged, "She said that our bond was the strongest she had seen in generations."

At this, Dean walked up and sat next to Cas. "So… Being the angel of love and passion she just had to make sure it happened, right?"

Cas nodded, "Exactly. She told me that the man I was looking for would be at the castle that very day actually. She said he would be with Gabriel."

Dean looked over at him as the throbbing in his shoulder increased and a thought popped into his head. "What was he doing with Gabriel?"

Cas sighed deeply and bit his lip. "He was looking for his brother."

Dean's eyes narrowed as his suspicions grew stronger, "Cas, how many days ago was did this happen?"

"Two days before the engagement ball."

Dean stood up and looked down at the dark haired prince, who had his head bowed so that he was looking at the ornate carpet.

"Cas, are you saying that I might be your soulmate?"

"From what I have been told and what I have gathered… Yes… But only if you have the mark."

Dean nodded. "What is the mark? Do you know what it is? Or do you just have to guess?"

"I know what it is." Castiel murmured quietly.

"What is it, Cas?"

"It's a scar in the shape of a hand print. She said it would be on the shoulder of the man that I share the bond with."

The throbbing in his shoulder got stronger but Dean ignored it. He noticed his brother looking at him, but he stayed in his spot, just trying to process the information he had been given.

"Dean, didn't that thing on your shoulder just turn into a handprint?"

At Sam's words, Cas' head snapped up and his eyes locked with Dean's.

"Yeah, Sammy… The thing on my shoulder is a handprint. It has been for about six months… And right now it's going crazy." He said without breaking his eyes away from Cas'.

Slowly, Castiel got to him feet and stepped closer to Dean.

"Which shoulder is it?" He asked quietly as he stepped closer again. Dean saw his deep blue eyes flick back and forth between his shoulders.

"It- It's on my left shoulder."

"May I see it?"

Dean took a deep breath and nodded before pulling his shirt over his head because he knew his long sleeves wouldn't go up all the way to reveal the mark. He heard Cas' breath hitch when the mark was finally free from his shirt. Dean studied Cas' face, but the prince was focused on the mark. The deep blue eyes were filled with awe, and his face was full of hope. After a few moments, Dean cleared his throat.

"So is this anything like what she described?"

"It's exactly like what she described." Cas replied breathily. He swallowed hard and looked away from the mark to look back into Dean's eyes. "May I touch it?"

It was like the mark could sense what Cas had said, because a pleasant tingling flowed from his shoulder throughout his entire body.

"Yes." Dean nodded. "Just to shut the thing up or something."

The prince's eyes squinted in confusion, but he still reached towards dean's shoulder slowly. At first, he just brushed his fingertips against the red raised skin. The resulting jolts of pleasure caused Dean to suck in a deep breath.

Cas pulled his fingers away, "Did I hurt you, Dean?"

"No, Cas, just…" Unable to finish his thought, the hunter grabbed the prince's wrist and placed the other man's palm flush against the print. When Cas' fingers stretched out, his hand fit the mark entirely.

Dean sighed with relief, "That shut up it up." He chuckled, "The entire time you were being a damn tease it would stop tingling and sending jolts through my body… And now it's quiet."

Cas smiled, just a brief twitch of his lips upwards again, but it was a smile. "I'm glad that you are content, Dean."

"Yeah, it's great… I feel better than I have in a long time." Dean grinned and leaned closer to Cas.

The prince stepped closer and used his free hand to wrap around Dean's waist, closing the distance between the two of them. Dean rested his forehead against the other man's with a smile. Dean went to close the distance between their lips, but they were interrupted when Gabriel cleared his throat loudly.

"Alright, lovebirds. We get that you two are like soulmates or whatever, but we'd prefer not to be mentally scarred at the sight of the two of you brushing each other's teeth with your tongues."

Dean clenched his jaw and glared at the shorter prince, who immediately ducked behind Sam's back once again, but Cas stepped away from Dean anyway. Dean groaned and pulled his shirt back on.

"You're an ass, Gabriel." Dean grumbled.

Sam chuckled, "So are you, but you don't hear me complaining."

"Oh please, you complain all the time, bitch."

"Whatever, jerk." Sam said with a chuckle.

Dean smiled and felt another rush of warmth run through him again when Cas wrapped an arm around his shoulders so that his hand rested on the mark, even though it was hidden by Dean's shirt. Dean smiled and looped his arm around the other man's waist and looked at his brother.

"Now that I have my shit sorted "He chuckled and pressed a kiss to Cas' temple, "It's your turn." He said with a nodded to Gabriel and then to Sam.

Sam flushed red and Gabriel winked at them from behind Sam's back.

**(AN: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I know I did, and I know I have a couple of friends who will stop threatening me with death because of that cliffhanger (sorry not sorry). **

**PS. I'm on a diet, but reviews are my cheat food.**

**-Aj )**


	9. Chapter 9

(**AN: You'll all probably hate me for this chapter considering I just got Dean and Cas together, but am not ignoring them, but I have been trying for way too long to write this chapter and all my brain wants to write is Sabriel, so there might be small glimpses of Destiel in this chapter, but only if you squint really hard. Just FYI this chapter is mainly just filler while I plan out what happens next.**

**PS. Thank you all for following/favoriting. Oh, and you should know that reviews are my facorite thing to dream about.**

**-Aj) **

Chapter nine

Gabriel sat on his bed as he watched Sam start the fire in the fireplace next to his room. The younger man was crouched down arranging kindling and tinder so that he could get the fire going quickly. A sudden thought struck the prince that caused him to chuckle.

Sam stood and looked at him. "What are you laughing at?"

Gabriel shook his head, "Well, you're used to hunting monsters and demons, and basically everything that wants to rip your face off right?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Why?"

"Well, I'm just thinking about how I've got this guy who could protect me better than any of the guards in this entire kingdom."

"In every kingdom actually." Sam interrupted.

"A guy who could protect me better than any of the guards in any kingdom." Gabriel corrected. "So what do I decide to do with him? I decide to make him clean up after me. I have him act like my mother." Gabriel laughs. "I think you would be way less bored if I just let the maids take care of cleaning the room and have you be my personal guard…" The prince trailed off and a thoughtful expression took over his face.

Sam got the fire started and stood up to his full height. "I can't do that, Gabriel. I'm not a knight."

The prince looked up at him, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Samalam, I'm crowned prince. If I tell the captain of the royal guard that you're my new personal guard there's nothing he can do about it. He has to listen to me. Plus, you get your own horse and a sword and everything."

Sam chuckled. "I have a sword… I have a lot of weapons actually, but I don't really need a horse do I? Unless we're gonna be going on a long trip…"

Gabriel shrugged, "Well, if your brother and Cassie ever come out of their rooms and head back to Falinta el Cielo we'll have to go over there for their wedding."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Wedding?"

"Well yeah. Cas has only a few months to get married or his dad is going to marry him off to someone else just so that he can make an ally. I thought you two got that."

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… I got the part where they were soulmates, and that Cas had to get married, but I just thought that if he found his love he'd have a few extra months."

"Why's it even an issue, Sammy?" Gabriel asked as he sat up.

"Well, Dean's never really been a commitment type of guy… He always runs away when things get too serious…"

Gabriel chuckled. "Well maybe that's because he could tell that whoever he was with isn't who he was meant to be with… I mean… You saw the two of them last night. Plus, we can still hear the two of them every time they go for another round. I think they'll be fine, Sammich. In fact, I think they'll be great, so don't worry alright? Well, don't worry about that. I'd be more worried about Benny. He's the one that's gonna have to sign off on you."

Sam frowned, "Wait, Benny? Who's Benny?"

"He's the new Captain of the guard. We thought the old one ran off, but I'm guessing the wraith actually killed him."

"Oh…" Sam's frown deepened as a thought crossed his mind. "This Benny wouldn't happened to be Benny Laffite would it?"

The prince shrugged, "I think so." He said and started to get dressed. "Why?"

Sam took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over his face. "Because, Benny Laffite used to be a part of Lucifer's gang back when he was obsessed with me. Benny was Lucifer's right hand man. Rumor has it he's never lost a fight, he fought in not one, but two wars, always on the side of the bad guys. He's a bad guy, Gabriel. Why is he the captain of your guard?"

The blonde shrugged. "He started as a soldier and worked his way up the ranks. My father trusts him. He's Anna's personal guard. He must have ditched Lucifer because once when that asshat attacked my sister's carriage, Benny fought him off. Anna didn't get hurt and nothing was stolen, but Benny got a pretty good gash across his arm."

Sam bit his lip." How do you know he's not just working some angle? Become invaluable to the king and then turn on him in a way that causes him to get killed by Lucifer?"

"Sam, he's not a bad guy. I trust him with not only my life, but my sister's life. If he really was what you said he was, then he's changed. "

"I don't trust him, Gabriel… And you shouldn't either."

"I think you should give him a chance, Sam."

"Alright fine… But I make no promises. I'll talk to him, but I won't trust him."

"That's the spirit, Gigantor!" Gabriel laughed as he finished dressing. "Now come on. He'll probably just be getting done with morning assignments so he should be free right about now. Come on, we've got to tell him that he can stop wasting everybody's time by assigning me a guard that he knows I'll ditch as soon as possible."

Sam shook his head as he looked down at the smiling prince. "Alright, fine. Lead the way, your highness."

"Oh, Sammy, you know what it does to me when you get all formal." The honey hair prince teased as he grabbed Sam's hand and dragged him to the door. "You keep that up and I just won't be able to control myself."

Sam rolled his eyes, but let himself be dragged along by the shorter man.

They reached the courtyard fairly quickly, despite the fact that every time a tray passed, Gabriel stopped and grabbed the sweetest thing he could find off of it. When they stopped for the final time they were standing behind a stocky man with a head of short brown hair and a scruffy beard. Sam clenched his jaw and cleared his throat.

"Benny Laffite."

The man turned and looked up at Sam with a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Samuel Winchester. How's it going brother?" Benny asked, a thick, gruff accent accentuating his words.

The taller man's teeth ground together causing a twitch to become apparent to Gabriel as he watched the two men interact.

"Benny, what are you doing here?"

"I've come to the good side, Sam. I worked my way up. Honestly. There was no backstabbing, no bribery, and no blackmail. Just hard work and loyalty."

Sam's expression didn't soften, "Why?"

"Because what Lucifer did to you was wrong… What Lucifer did to a lot of people was wrong. I joined his cause because he said he wanted to give men freedom, and at first he did, but after a while he went bad. Real bad. He became twisted and he just wanted to bring pain, so I ditched him. He tried to hunt me down, but I'm too good. I joined up here and he's never found me. What are you doing here?"

Gabriel saw his opportunity to speak up. "He's with me actually. You know how I've been ditching my guard?"

Benny nodded. "Of course, your highness."

"Well, I've found a guard that I would ditch. True, it's because not only does this man have an amazing bitchface, but if I ditch him I won't get to see his spectacular ass whenever I want."

Benny looked Sam up and down. "You want Sam to be your personal guard?"

Gabriel nodded, an intense hope filling him. "Yup. This moose can keep track of me any day."

"Well… I can't stop you from ordering him to do that… but I'd feel a lot better if I could test him out a bit. I know he must be good at something since Lucifer wanted him." He looked away from Sam to look at Gabriel. "Do you mind if we do some dueling?"

Gabriel grinned widely. "Of course not. I'd get to see Sammy all sweaty and fighting, letting those fabulous muscles ripple and flex." The prince laughed. "Go ahead. I'll just sit back and watch."

Benny nodded and looked at Sam. "You don't have to beat me, you just have to not die."

Sam glared down at him. "I think I'll survive."

Benny nodded and called for one of the guards to bring him their sword. Once the extra sword was in his hand he flipped it around and held the handle out to Sam. The taller man eyed the blade wearily, but took the weapon and hefted it in his hand a few times, feeling the balance.

Benny pulled his sword. "You ready brother?"

Sam shrugged, "Sure."

Before Benny could blink, Sam slashed out and easily disarmed him.

The young Winchester glared at him. "Are we done now, Lafitte?"

The captain nodded. "Yeah… Damn Winchester… You're good…" He looked at Gabriel. "Your highness, I believe you will be perfectly safe with this man."

Gabriel grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I think I will be too."

Sam looked at Gabriel, his expression still hard. "Your highness, may we go now? I believe that both of us need to get breakfast."

Gabriel grinned. "Of course, Sammy."

With that, the prince grabbed Sam's hand and dragged him back towards the castle. As they walked away Benny heard Gabriel chattering excitedly, and he was sure he heard something along the lines of "That was SO COOl, Sammich!"


	10. Chapter 10

**(AN: Thank you all for the follows/Favorites, and I'm sorry it's taken me a week to get this new update out. (I know that's how most authors regulate their posts, but I like to post once or twice a week.) I've been very busy since in the past week I've gotten a life and I have no clue what to do with it. I hope you enjoy this chapter since it's mostly Destiel fluff. I promise in the next couple chapters it'll pick up again. So enjoy this chapter and please review. (You know, since reviews are my Advil and I have a giant headache.)) **

Chapter 10

Dean watched the face of the man that was wrapped in his arms with awe. The slight movement of Cas' eyes behind the lids caused the long, dark lashed to dance over his pale cheekbones as he dreamed, and the normally untamable hair fell in even wilder tufts across his forehead. He was beautiful. Dean smiled, but chewed his bottom lip as he thought. Normally this was when he made his escape. He would slip back into his clothes silently as his partner slept, completely unaware that he had left. This time was different… He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay. He wanted to see the beautiful blues that made up Cas' irises. He wanted to see Cas smile when he made a joke. Dean had never wanted that before. He had always just assumed he would never see his partners again, and if he did, there would be a few moments of awkward conversation and possibly (most likely) a slap before they left in a huff. He didn't want the next person to do that to him to be Cas… And that revelation scared him. He'd never been good at relationships. He was a hunter. They didn't get to be happy. They didn't get the opportunity to be happy, because once they were, the crap that followed them around like a shadow, found the people they cared about and exploited that weak point. Hunters couldn't have weak points.

Dean's thought were interrupted when the smaller man shifted closer to him as his eyes fluttered open. A smile spread across Cas' face, and it took Dean's breath away. Everything about this man was perfect. From his pearly white teeth, to his unruly black hair, and even the crinkles around his eyes when he smiled.

"Good morning, Dean."

None of that even mentioned his voice. It was deep and rough, but at the same time it was soft and soothing.

"Dean, are you alright?"

That amazing voice sounded concerned this time, and it snapped Dean out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, Cas. I'm fine. I was just distracted. I got too into my head and my thoughts were distracting me."

The dark haired man smiled broadly. "What were you thinking about?"

Dean bite his lip as he contemplated what to tell the other man. He could say that he had just been thinking about a hunt, but in the end he decided to answer truthfully.

"I was thinking about you."

"Only good things I hope?" Soon after this left Cas' mouth, he stopped smiling. "You're not regretting our time together are you? I know finding out we share a profound bond can be a lot to take in at once… I know I was shocked… and I can't force you to do anything… Well, I could… I'm a prince, but I won't. You won't be made to do anything that you do not want to do. I would not for-"

His words were cut off by Dean as the hunter captured the prince's lips with his own. The kiss was short, but sweet and it calmed Castiel's nerves considerably. Once Dean pulled away, he smiled.

"As sexy as your voice is, and as cute as you are when you ramble, I had to stop you. There is no way I could regret our time together. It has been awesome."

"Then what were you thinking about?"

Dean sighed. "I was thinking about how amazing you are, and how I don't deserve you… And how unlucky hunters are when it comes to the people they care about."

The prince frowned. "Unlucky? What do you mean?"

"Well…" Dean sighed and rolled onto his back so he could stare up at the ceiling. He smiled when he felt Cas' soft hair tickling the underside of his jaw as he snuggled closer to him and put an arm over his bare chest. "Hunters make a lot of enemies. All the things that go bump in the night want to kill them. It's wild. Kill or be killed… So whenever something supernatural gets wind of a hunter's weakness… They take advantage of it… Even if that weakness is a person." He sighed and closed his eyes. "That's what I was thinking about."

Dean heard Cas sit up, but he refused to open his eyes, even when he felt the other's man's gaze on him.

"Dean… I am a prince… I am well protected. By the guards… and by you."

The hunter's eyes flew open. "You trust me that much? You hardly know me… You don't know if I can protect you from everything…"

Castiel's smile made Dean's heart swell with an emotion that the younger man couldn't quite identify… But he liked it. He also liked it when Cas reached up to rest a hand on his cheek, and he liked it even more when the prince rubbed soothing circles over his cheek bone with his thumb.

"Dean, if what I have been told by Anael is correct, we are soulmates. I do not believe that a man such as yourself would let your other half die. Not without one hell of a fight beforehand. Not without doing everything you possibly can to save me. I believe a man like you would die to protect me, but I also believe that you won't let it get that far to begin with."

Dean sighed. "Cas, you don't know tha-"

This time, it was the prince's turn to cut the other off by kissing the man before him. When he pulled away he smiled.

"I trust you, Dean Winchester. I trust you enough to believe in this… this bond we share. And this bond is what is going to save me from a loveless life… If you allow yourself to."

Dean smiled. "How would I do that?"

Cas bit his lip. "If I don't get married by the time I turn twenty five I will be forced into a loveless marriage by my father to create stronger bonds between kingdoms… My birthday is in a few months and I have to be married by then or… Or I have to live that loveless life…"

Dean looked up at him. "And I am your other half…" Dean looked down, breaking their gaze with a sigh. "Cas…best when it comes to commitment. I'm not…" The hunter trailed off when he saw the dejected look on the prince's face… And he really hated to see that look of pain. He hated that he was the cause of that pain. "But… I'm willing to try… For you, Cas. For you I would do anything… So yes, Cas… If you're asking me to marry you my answer is yes… If you're not asking then… Castiel Novak, Prince of Falinta el Cielo… Will you marry me?"

The dark-haired man stared down at him in shock without responding. As the silence continued, Dean began to feel self-conscious. Maybe he had read the situation wrong. Maybe the other man hadn't been asking him to marry him. He cleared his throat.

"Cas? If… If you don't want to just say so… Don't just leave me hanging here… I kinda just went against everything I've ever done… Ever… So if you could just… You know… Say something? I kinda need an answer. A nod. A shake of the head… something…. "

He still didn't get a response, so he sat up and grabbed his trousers from the floor next to the bed. He pulled them on quickly and walked across the room to grab his shirt from where it had been discarded by the door. He didn't go through the trouble of putting it on as he reached for the doorknob, but before his hand touched the metal he was spun around by his shoulder and pressed against the cold, dark wood of the door. Cas stared into his eyes, a smile paying across his lips. A smile that Dean could only describe as mischievous.

"So, you were planning on leaving so soon after proposing? I don't think that's the best idea you've ever had. Which is funny, considering you followed up your best idea with your worse."

Dean's eyes had gone wide. "Wait, Cas… Is this a yes?"

In response, the prince simply kissed him passionately and pressed him even harder against the door. When they remembered they both needed, they broke the kiss. Dean was still pressed against the door, and both of them were breathing heaving, but both were smiling widely.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes."

"You're very intuitive."

Dean smiled and looked deep into Cas' eyes.

"Dean?"

"Yes, Cas?"

"Would you like to come back to Falinta el Cielo with me? I believe we need to tell my parents so that they will stop trying to marry me off."

Dean smiled and pressed a quick kiss to the other man's lips. "I wouldn't let that happened anyway… But can we invite Sam to go with?"

Cas nodded. "But Sam is Gabriel's personal manservant now… Gabriel would have to allow Sam some time off… Or knowing Gabriel and his obsession with your brother… He'd have to come with."

"I think I could live with that." The hunter chuckled. "If you promise me that I can kick his ass if he pisses me off."

"I think I can be convinced to agree to that." The shorter man said with a wide grin.

"Oh? And what would I have to do to convince you?" Dean asked as he kissed the other man.

"I think you know." Castiel smiled as he wrapped his arms around his lover's neck.

With these words, Dean pushed away from the door and lead both of them back to the bed as both laughed.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Gabriel had to admit, Sam was a pretty damn good guard. After Sam had changed into his new tunic that held the royal seal and lightweight leather armor (He had refused to wear full blown metal armor, and they didn't have any on hand that would fit the giant so they allowed it) they had gone into town. Gabriel hadn't been lying when he said he didn't actually want to ditch Sam, but what kind of prankster would he be if he didn't at least _try. _He had a reputation to protect after all. He had done his best to be rid of the Sasquatch, but no matter what he tried, within a few minutes the man was back by his side. Even when he used his small stature to slide through the crowd and disappear, his guard didn't lose sight of him. Once, Gabriel thought he had given Sam the slip, for about twenty minutes, but he found out later that the (Irritatingly patient) guard had simply been following behind him by about twenty yards so that he wouldn't feel too smothered.

As twilight fell, the prince used the lengthening shadows to creep away from Sam, but he nearly had a heart attack when he heard a slight chuckle from behind him.

"Where exactly are we going, Your Highness?"

The shorter man jumped and spun around to face his guard, who straightened his back and look down at him. He must have leaned close to the Gabriel's ear just to taunt him. "Good God, Sammich! Don't do that!" He yelped as he tried to get his wildly thumping heart to slow down.

The brunette chuckle. "Sorry, Gabriel. I couldn't resist. You looked so pleased with yourself. You thought you had finally escaped. I just had to. I apologize."

The prince crossed his arms and tried to glare at the laughing form of the other man, but he couldn't help but laugh after a few moments of looking into the taller man's kaleidoscope eyes. They shone green, brown, and gold in the fading sunlight and almost took his breath away.

Once their laughter subsided, the new guard took a deep breath and settled his gaze back on his charge.

"It's getting late, your highness. I believe we should get back to the castle before it gets dark."

'Sammy, you're no fun." The shorter man pouted slightly. "And you can stop using those stupid titles. You can call me Gabriel, Gabe's even better, but your best bet is calling me sweet cheeks. You'll get the best response if you do that."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Alright, Gabriel, whatever you say. Let's get back. Dean and Cas are hopefully done by now."

The blonde nodded and turned towards the castle. "Let's go! I heard that the kitchens are making cookies, custards, and pies today! If we don't hurry up we might not get any!" With that, the prince grabbed his guard's hand and dragged the larger man through the village towards the palace.

-Handprint-

Dean and Cas walk towards the kitchen hand in hand. They had just gotten back from Bobby's forge. The man ran a weapon's forge, but he was great with any project that had to do with metal, so they had gone to ask him to make their rings. The metalsmith had promised that nothing could possibly keep him from getting those rings done as soon as possible. He promised that not even a signed order from the king for a hundred weapons for his front line soldiers could keep him from completing those rings and delivering them to Falinta de Cielo personally. They had told him that that wasn't necessary, but he had mumbled something about idjits before telling them to get out and go back home.

So, they strolled into the kitchen just as Gabriel burst through the outside door of the kitchen, still dragging Sam by the hand. The short prince saw the array of desserts spread out on the tables and he let out a whoop.

"I told you they were making pies!" He turned a full circle and whooped again. "And custards! Not to mention the cakes or the cookies!"

Dean chuckled softly and looked from Gabriel to his brother.

"Hey, Sammy?" Dean called out across the kitchen.

The younger hunter turned and smiled at the sight of his brother. "Hey, Dean. What's up?"

The elder brother gestured for the taller man to walk over to him. Sam sauntered over to his brother and looked down at him.

"What's up, Dean."

Green eyes looked over his brother's form and raised an eyebrow. "What's with the new getup, Sammy? You getting back into the business or what? I haven't seen you wear armor at all since you left the life."

The younger Winchester blushed slightly. "Oh yeah… I'm uh… I'm Gabriel's personal guard now… He asked me to since he knew what I could do and once I got 'approved' by the Captain of the Guard." He clenched his jaw. "Who it turns out, is Benny Lafitte."

Dean's expression turned stony. "What the hell is Benny Lafitte doing as a captain of a royal guard?"

"Apparently he ditched Lucifer. He went straight and became a soldier. Worked his way up all the way to captain. Gabriel says he's okay. Says he's saved Anna's life from Lucifer."

"Alright…" Dean says slowly. "Gabriel says he's okay?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"And you trust Gabriel?"

Sam looked over his shoulder at the man that was now his responsibility. He was shoving cookies into his face and groaning happily as the sugar and chocolate coated his tongue. Sam turned back to face his brother.

"Yeah, I trust Gabriel. Despite the fact that's he's wildly immature and likes to play pranks, he's a good guy. He'll help us if he has to."

With that, Dean broke into a grin. "Well… In that case, Cas and I would like to invite you and your charge to… To our wedding."

Sam's eyes widened. "Woah! Really? That's great!" He smiled and pulled his brother into a hug. "That's great Dean!" He looked between the prince and his big brother. They looked happy. Dean looked happier than he had for a long time. In fact, it had been years since Sam had seen Dean that happen. T was good to see the light back in his eyes.

At that moment, Gabriel wandered over to the trio, a custard in his hand, and a grin on his face.

'Hey you three. What's going on?"

Castiel smiled. "Gabriel, Dean and I are getting married. We have decided to invite you and Sam to Falinta de Cielo when we announce our engagement. We'd leave tomorrow morning."

Gabe grinned. "Sure, we can go, but my father requires at least two guards to accompany me when I travel between kingdoms because he doesn't trust me. Cassie here can just slip around unnoticed, but I have way too much flair." The short man shrugged and took a bite of his custard. "But with one of them being Sam that just leaves the other requirement."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What's the other requirement?"

"One of the guards can be whoever I want. In this case it's Sam. The other one has to be the current captain of the guard."

Both Winchesters turned and looked down at him, both their expressions set and cold. Their jaw muscles twitched in unison before they looked at each other. Gabriel looked between them.

"What?"

**(AN: I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I know it's slow, but spoiler alert for the next chapter we've got a new character coming around. Not an OC. Definitely not. He's one of my favorite original characters on the show and to be honest… I have way too much fun imagining the quippy lines that he comes up with, so I'm really excited. So thank you all for your follows, favs, and reviews. **

**P.S. Reviews are my favorite donut filling.**

**-Aj.) **


	12. Chapter 12

**(AN: Thank you all for the follows/favorites. I really enjoyed writing this chapter (longest one yet! Yay!) So I hope you enjoy this chapter too!)**

Chapter 12

Sam watched from the door as Gabriel flew around his room packing. He seemed to think that they were going to need _everything_. He also seemed to be able to justify needing everything to himself, one item at a time. Sam wondered that if Gabriel kept going at this rate if they would be able to depart in less than an hour like the newly engaged couple wanted to.

"Gabriel, we have to hurry. Dean and Cas want to leave soon. Plus, you won't be able to fit all of that stuff inside carriage."

"I'm taking all of it, Sammy. It's important."

"How is all of this important?"

"That is for me to know and you to find out, Samsquatch." Gabriel said as he wiggled his eyebrows in (what he thought) was a seductive manner, but it only caused Sam to sigh deeply.

"Your highness-"

"Sammich, what did I tell you about those stupid titles?" The shorter man said, cutting him off.

"Alright fine. Gabriel-"

"You can call me Gabe." The prince said, interrupting him again.

The guard simply glared down at him before starting to speak again.

"Gabe, this is going to be my brother's engagement party, and wedding. You have to behave yourself or I will be forced to kick your ass."

"Oh, Sammy!" Gabriel laughed. "Usually I'm the one doing the punishing, but when you're all threatening and dominating like that it make me all tingly in all the right places."

In response, Sam simply shook his head and picked up the two bags closest to him.

"You get one more bag, Gabe. I'm going to send some servants up here to grab the rest. I expect you to be down in the carriage in ten minutes. Regardless of whether or not Cas and Dean are out there yet. If you are not, I'll come back up here and carry you outside by the scruff of your neck. "

The prince nodded eagerly. "You know piggy back rides are much more fun." This made the guard fix him with a sharp glare. He giggled. ''Yes, sir, Sir Moose!"

Sam glared at Gabriel one last time before he walked out the room, carrying the bags.

"Tingly, Sammich! Tingly!" The honey haired prince called after him in a teasing voice.

Fifteen minutes later Sam sat astride his new horse, Charger. Charger had a sleek sliver-gray coat, but he didn't seem to get along well with his brother's horse, Impala, which is why the brothers had to ride on either side of the carriage, since Dean refused to leave his beloved friend behind, even though Bobby promised to take care of her.

The taller Winchester looked over at his brother. "I'm gonna go get him. The carriage is loaded, and he's being a child."

He heard a chuckle behind him. "I wouldn't do that, Brother. From what I can tell, he wants you to go get him."

Sam turned in the saddle to see Benny walking up behind them. He raised an eyebrow. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because Gabriel likes to be manhandled." The Captain said simply.

"What?"

"You know, he likes to be bossed around. He has all the power, but he likes to pretend he doesn't, and judging by the way he looked at you when you two came up to me the first time, and the way he follows you around like a puppy, I'm guessing that his royal highness would really enjoy it if you went back up there and dragged him down here."

Sam sighed. "Fine. You go get him."

Benny chuckled. "What?"

"You heard me, Lafitte. Go get the childish prince."

"Alright, Winchester. I'll see what I can do, but with Gabriel being the way he is, be prepared to deal with very pouty prince."

Sam shrugged. "I think I can do that."

The captain nodded. "Alright, Sam."

-Handprint-

Gabriel lay in the middle of his bed, his head rested on his hands and his torso propped up on a pile of pillows. Ten minutes past, then fifteen minutes, before he heard heavy footsteps coming towards his door. _Took you long enough, Sammy, _He thought to himself as a smirk spread slowly across his face. He shifted farther back into the pillows and focused his attention on the doors.

He resisted the urge to sit up when he heard the footsteps stop outside the door, instead, he simply smiled broadly as the door opened, but when he saw who was standing there the smile dropped abruptly and he sat up.

"Benny? What the hell? Where's Sam?"

The Guard smiled. "He's waiting down by the carriage with his brother and Cas. I've been sent to come and retrieve you. "

"But Sam said he would come get me!"

Benny smiled. "Samuel Winchester is very busy, so he sent me to come and get you. I hope this isn't a problem."

The prince sat on his bed for a moment before smiling mischievously. "No, of course this isn't a problem. I'm sure Sam has a lot of work to do and I'm glad he's taking such a healthy initiative. I'll be there in a few moments. I just have to change into more appropriate traveling attire."

The guard looked him over for a moment, a suspicious glint in his eyes, but he nodded.

"Alright, you highness. Sam also tells me that if you're not down soon he will send Dean up next, and that his brother has no problem manhandling you into submission. It appears that the elder Winchester is rather impatient to get to his fiancé's kingdom so that they can announce their engagement."

Gabriel nodded eagerly. "Oh no, that won't be necessary. I'll be down right away."

Benny eyed him suspiciously before turning and walking out the door calmly.

Once the guard was gone Gabriel jumped to his feet and set about getting changed.

-Handprint-

Sam sat astride Charger when he saw Benny coming back out of the castle, without Gabriel. He frowned.

"Benny, where's Gabriel? Why isn't he with you?"

"He's changing… Or so he says. I wouldn't be too sure of that though. He seems to be up to no good. He got the troublesome trickster look in his eye when he said that he was going to get changed into more travel appropriate clothes."

His words were punctuated by a loud "Bang!" as the side door into the courtyard burst open to reveal Gabriel, dressed in his undergarments and boots. Sam's eyes widened as he stared at the naked chest of the smiling prince.

"G-Gabriel! What are you doing?!" The dumbfounded guard choked out.

"I'm being comfortable, Sammy. I need to be if we're going to be travelling all day." The shorter man said with a grin as he climbed up the back to the carriage to lay across the top. "Okay, we can go now. I think I'll lay up here and work on my tan."

Sam stared at the prince's ridiculousness. He watched as the prince proceeded to get comfortable by laying on his back and resting his head on his crossed hands once again.

Once the silence had run on for a few moments, the prince turned his head and looked down at his guard.

"Are we going or not, Sammich? I heard that Dean was in a hurry to get to Falinta de Cielo, so what's the hold up?"

Benny nodded and climbed to his spot at the front of the carriage. "He's right, Sam. We've got to get going. Especially if we want to make it there before nightfall."

Sam nodded slowly, his thoughts swirling. "Yeah…we have to go."

With that, the carriage started moving. It had already gotten to the palace gates by the time Sam snapped out of his trance. He spurred Charger into a gallop to catch up.

Dean smirked over at his brother. "You okay over there, Sammy?"

He nodded. "Yeah, Dean. I'm fine… W-why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh no reason." The older hunter said with a chuckle.

Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm just fine." He said as he resisted the urge to steal a glance at Gabriel. He turned to Benny. "You keep an eye up here. I'll drop back and watch for danger from the rear."

"You're gonna be watching something all night." Dean muttered.

Sam glared at him. "Shut up, Jerk."

"Whatever, Bitch." Dean chuckled.

Sam rolled his eyes and slowed Charger just enough that they were trotting at the back of the convoy where he could watch Gabriel without anyone watching him. He was glad for that, because he found that he could take his eyes off the immature prince. The sun shone off of his golden hair, and his skin glistened as a thin sheen of sweat formed in the heat of the day. He looked so peaceful laying there. He was perfectly at ease despite the fact that he was almost naked.

Sam didn't know how long he had gone, just staring at Gabriel, but he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a dark chuckle from the front of the caravan. He rode up next to the carriage as it slowed to a stop and saw a figure shrouded by a cloak standing in the middle of the road.

"You know I didn't think I'd ever see this." The figure said darkly.

Sam frowned. "You didn't think you'd see what? Who are you?" Sam asked as he drew his sword and a dagger.

The figure chuckled again. "I didn't think I'd ever see my baby brother riding in a convoy with a mostly naked trickster on the roof, a traitor driving the carriage, and not only my favorite Winchester, but my least favorite Winchester. Looks like the family really has gone to hell."

Sam's eyes widened as he looked over at Dean and then back at the figure. "Lucifer?"

The figure threw back its hood and the man beneath it smiled. "It's good to know that somebody remembered me. It has been a long time, but I do try to leave a lasting impression."

Sam clenched his jaw. "Gabriel, get in the carriage." He said without looking away from the man that stood in front of them. "Get in the carriage and close the windows. Don't open them for anyone but me."

The prince nodded and silently climbed down from the roof and swung into the carriage through the window before shutting them.

Sam heard Benny and Dean draw their swords as Lucifer took a step forward.

The man raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Hold on, boys. I'm not here to hurt anyone. I just want to talk, but if try to hurt me, I will have my men kill all of you. Including my baby brother. No exceptions." He smiled darkly, showing all his teeth and accentuating the scars that marred his face.

Sam growled. "You're not killing anyone, Lucifer, but you will die. And I'll be the one to kill you."

"That's sweet, Sammy, but that's not going to be how this plays out."

"How is this going to play out, Lucifer?" Sam asked through ground teeth.

"You're going to put that pretty little sword away and get off of that beautiful horse, and you're going to come with me, or you and everyone here is going to die. So either you do what I say, or everyone dies. No matter what you do. No matter what you try. You die, and they die. Simple as that."

"Don't do it, Sam" Dean growled lowly.

The younger Winchester didn't listen to his brother as he slid his sword back into the sheathe and swung his leg over the back of his saddle as he dismounted. He walked up to Lucifer and loomed over him. The blonde smiled up at him.

"It's so terrifying to see you all angry and stone faced like this Sam. Moments like these are why I want you on my team. You could be an animal, Sam. Feared by all. Pushed around by no one. Least of all that pipsqueak of a prince. Gabriel? Yes, Prince Gabriel Norse. The Trickster." He shook his head. "It's almost pathetic to see a man like you, a man that could rule the world with me, being bossed around and manipulated by just an immature child."

Sam clenched his jaw. "Lucifer, I'm doing what you want, leave Gabriel out of this."

"Alright, Sam. Just come with me and everyone will be fine. "

The taller man nodded and started walking into the forest. The blonde smiled and waved at Benny and Dean, his ice blue eyes glinting. Sam turned back to look at the man.

"Hurry up, Lucifer. You don't want me to change my mind."

Just after he spoke, a man fell out of a tree just at the edge of the trees. Sam looked back at the carriage and saw Gabriel leaning out the carriage window, crossbow in his hands. Lucifer glared at the prince.

"You shot my best archer!"

"Your only archer. Lucifer, your men have been abandoning you left and right. You only have a few. That's why you've been laying low. That's why you need Sam so desperately." Gabriel growled between his teeth. "Stand down, Lucifer. I will not hesitate to shoot you."

Lucifer growled and flicked his wrist. A blade flew through the air before imbedding itself into Sam's thigh. Pain flowered through his system and he fell to his knees, a grunt of pain escaping his as the jolt sent another wave of agony through his body. Before he could blink, Lucifer was standing behind him with a sword to his throat.

"Any of you move and the giant dies." The highwayman glared around at the surrounding men. Benny and Dean had jumped to the ground while Gabriel had loaded another bolt into his crossbow, but they had all frozen in their tracks. Lucifer smirked and dug the edge of his blade even deeper into the sensitive skin of Sam's neck. "Good boys, just stay right there while I just go on my way."

Sam reached for his belt slowly. He couldn't let Lucifer get away. He had to get to the dagger that was hung on his belt. He felt a subtle calm sweep over him as his fingers wrapped around the cool leather of the dagger's hilt. He also felt a warm rivulet of blood run down the column of his neck. He needed to act quickly. Before he could strike he felt the blade fall away from his neck. He turned his head carefully to see what had happened and he saw Lucifer laying on the ground, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest. Sam turned back to look towards the carriage. Gabriel was climbing out of the window, now dressed in a loose shirt and trousers. He ran to Sam and fell to his knees.

"Are you okay, Sam?" He said as he tore a strip off of his shirt and held it to the small wound on Sam's neck.

The taller man groaned, but nodded. "Yeah, Gabe. I'm fine. I've had worse… Just get the knife out of my leg please."

The prince looked at him. "Are you sure? It's gonna hurt."

Sam nodded. "Yes, I'm sure Gabriel. Just pull the knife out of my leg and get me into the carriage. I can patch myself up in there."

Gabriel nodded. "Okay, Sam… Just… Just take my hand."

Sam didn't need to be told twice. He slipped his hand into Gabriel's and nodded.

"Okay, I'm ready. Just do it."

"On the count of three."

Sam nodded again.

"One…tw-"Halfway through two he swiftly pulled the metal from Sam's flesh.

"Damnit what happened to three?" Sam groaned as he gripped tightly onto Gabriel's hand.

Dean kneeled down next to the other two men. "You know what happened to three, Sammy. If he had done it on three you would have tensed up. You know that. I've done it to you a million times. Hell, you've done it to me a million times." Dean patted Gabriel on the back. "You did great. He's just being a big baby. Come on, let's get him into the carriage and patch him up."

Gabriel nodded and threw one of Sam's arms around his shoulders as he helped him get to his feet. Dean threw Sam's other arm over his shoulders while Gabriel slide his arm around the wounded man's waist. The trio made their way over to the carriage slowly. Cas held the door open and looked at Sam.

"Thank you for being willing to sacrifice so much for us."

Sam smiled weakly. "It's nothing, Cas. I've done more for less."

"I know, but that man has taken so much from you… He made your life hell, but you were willing to go so that no one else died."

"It's what Winchesters do, Cas. We sacrifice." Sam looked at his brother. "Isn't that right, Dean?"

The hunter nodded solemnly. "That's right, Sammy. Now let's get your giant ass into the carriage so we can patch you up."

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Actually, we should get moving. If we don't start moving now we won't reach our destination until well after nightfall, and now that we're down one guard as it is it'll be more dangerous to travel at night. Cas can ride Charger and Sam can ride in the carriage with me while I get him cleaned up."

Sam frowned. "Gabe, you don't have to take care of me. I can do it myself. I mean, you've already saved my life today, you don't have to dirty your hands with my blood."

The shorter man smiled up at him, a hint of relief in his eyes. "I know… But I want to. You've been spending so much time taking care of, and dealing with, me lately, that I want to return the favor. Now shut up and let me help you."

Sam smiled slightly at the prince's words. "Alright, Gabriel. Just help me get in."

**(AN: Soo.. yeah. That was this chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**P.S. Reviews are the things that make me fangirl. **

**-Aj)**


	13. Chapter 13

**(AN: Hehe unlucky chapter thirteen. Jk. Thirteen is my favorite number. I really enjoyed writing this chapter because adorable Sabrielness and all that. I'm sorry it took me a little longer on this chapter, but that's going to be a theme for the next couple of weeks. Between driving over to ND to see my family and celebrating my 16th birthday over spring break I'm going to be pretty busy, but I'll try to keep up with my current pace of updating. So, enjoy.)**

Chapter 13

He couldn't believe this was happening. He was pressed up against his new favorite obsession, said obsession, was pulling his pants off. Sure, he was actually cutting them off so that they could get to the stab wound that slashed deep into his thigh, but that didn't deter Gabriel. The prince was thrilled to be this close. Close enough to smell the distinctive earthy smell that was purely _Sam _underneath the scent of clean sweat and fresh blood.

Gabriel was snapped from his thoughts when Sam groaned in pain as the material of his trousers finally ripped through the scabs that had already started to form around his wound. He put his hands over Sam's and looks up at him.

"Hold on, Sam. I've got this." He said as he released the taller man's and pulled a bag from underneath the seat and pulled what looked like some sort of small satchel out of the bag.

"Gabe, what's that?"

"Medicinal kit." He shrugged. "I've always had a hobby of mixing up poultices and creams laced with herbs that clean wounds and keeps infection from spreading."

The taller man seemed surprised at the confession and the shocked look on his face made Gabriel smile.

"What?" He chuckled. "I'm allowed to have a few secrets of my own. I am allowed to be more than just a pretty face."

Sam smiled weakly. "I know, Gabe. I'm just surprised. You're such a trickster that I'm surprised you have time for that kind of stuff."

"Well I'll always have time to help those who deserve to be helped... When I'm running around the village pranking the assholes... Well... While I'm waiting for the big boom... I go and help the people who need it most. Poor families that have starving children... Men and women who were injured in the crossfires between the guards and the Highwaymen, or just people who get sick."

As he explained his hobby, he worked on cleaning the blood away from Sam's thigh. Once that was done, he pulled a small jar of paste from his kit and looked up at Sam.

"This is going to hurt like hell, but it'll clean the wound more deeply and keep infection from setting in... So..." The prince bite his lip and held out his left hand. "Take my hand. Squeeze it if it it'll help ease the pain... If you want to..."

Gabriel's jitters vanished when he felt Sam's hand slip into his own. When he looked up from the floor where his eyes had dropped. Sam's eyes met his and even though he was in pain, Sam still smiled at him, even if it was a weak smile.

With that reassurance, Gabriel carefully dabbed the cream onto the tender flesh of Sam's thigh. As he did, he grit his teeth in pain because of the crushing pressure Sam was squeezing his hand with. He didn't blame Sam though. He knew how bad this cream felt. It felt like fire when put into a fresh wound, but it was the best he could make for fighting infection, and he really didn't want to risk losing Sam because he wanted to spare him a small amount of pain while the wound was being cleaned.

After a few moments, he could tell the sharp sting was fading because the pain in his hand eased away as Sam loosened his grip, but even as it was, Gabriel still felt the need to rub soothing circles into the skin on the back of Sam's hand with his thumb. The action seemed to help considering that Sam looked down at him and nodded in gratitude, his teeth still too tightly clenched for him to speak properly.

Gabriel took a deep breath and looked up at his guard. "Sam, I need my hand back so that I can bandage your leg properly. It'll hurt, but I need you to sit still."

The younger man took a deep breath before nodding slightly. "It doesn't hurt as much anymore... It's actually going kinda numb."

Gabriel grinned. "That's part of the cream's effects... I only use that stuff when I have to stitch a wound closed."

A frown furrowed Sam's brow. "What? What is stitching?"

Gabriel forgot that giving stitches were not something that most people did.

"It's where I sew the wound closed after it's clean so that it can heal faster and better. You won't even have that big of a scar... just don't itch the stitches."

Sam's eyes widened at his words.

"You're going to what?!"

"Don't worry, Sam. I've done this before. The cream numbs the wound and you won't even feel a thing until after I'm done. I promise it won't hurt. If it does you can punch me or whatever to get me back."

As the hunter contemplated the prince's words, Gabriel pulled a curved needle from it's spot in his satchel and a spool of white silk thread. His movements drew Sam's attention, but he refused to be distracted by the kaleidoscope gaze, that seemed to be a blue green in the shadowed interior of the carriage, as he threaded the needle with the thread. He doubled the thread before tying a knot at the edge and breaking the rest away from the spool. He rearranged them so than he was kneeling on the floor of the carriage. This position was cramped, but it gave him the best angle to get to the wound. He prodded Sam's thigh around the wound gently.

"Do you feel that? Does it hurt?"

"No." Sam said, sounding almost relieved... Almost.

That was, until Gabriel raised the needle and pressed the tip of it against his skin. He put a hand on his shoulder and worried his lower lip with this teeth.

"Gabe, you're sure about this?"

Gabriel smiled softly and nodded. It was adorable to see a full grown man... A full grown giant, so worried and concerned.

"Yes, Sam. I've done this before. Multiple times. You've got to trust me."

"I do trust you, Gabe."

The sincerity of his words took the prince by surprise. So did the complete and utter trust he saw in the other man's eyes. Normally when he treated people, he didn't see anything but wary suspicion until he was done. Sometimes he didn't even get that.

After a few moments he took a deep breath and nodded once more.

"Alright, Sam. Open the window and ask your brother or Cas to come and talk to you. This'll be done faster if you're not concentrating on this. If you're distracted, you won't tense up and everything will be fine."

Sam nodded and did as he was told without taking his hand off of Gabriel's shoulder. Once the window was open he cleared his throat.

"Hey, Dean, can I talk to you for a minute?"

A few moments later, dean slowed Impala into an easy trot by the carriage window.

"What's up, Sammy?"

The younger Winchester shrugged. "Gabriel's stitching the wound closed and he says it's easier if I'm distracted. You know, so I don't tense up."

Dean nodded then frowned."Wait, Gabe is doing what?"

"He's sewing the wound closed. He cleaned it, numbed it, and now he's giving me stitches so that it heals better before he bandages it. I don't even feel it, Dean. It's kinda amazing."

As they spoke, Cas had dropped back to ride next to Dean. Apparently they had done something to get Charger and Impala to get along because both horses were docile as they rode side by side.

"Yes, Gabriel is secretly quite the medicinal guru. Too bad nobody else knows."

Sam tilted his head. "What about the men, women, and children he helps? They'd have to know that he's good."

Deep blue eyes rolled in a surprisingly irritated gesture for the dark-haired prince who was normally so stoic.

"That would be true if he actually told them who he was. Most of the citizens know his name, but they don't know what he looks like, so he tells them he's a simple medicine man traveling around the kingdom giving free care to those who need it and only charging the ones who can afford it. Of course, he doesn't charge anyone, but he needs an excuse for how he gets all of his tools and herbs. He says 'they're already suspicious of a stranger as it is. Why give them a reason to question me even further?'." Blue eyes rolled again. "He has stories for everything. He has created a fake answer for every question they could possibly ask him. it's ridiculous."

"Hey!" Gabriel said and he popped into view. "My explanations are not ridiculous. And why are you talking about me like I'm not here?"

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing down there Gabriel? Is my brother still wearing pants? And is it even decent for us to be talking when you're doing whatever it is you're doing?"

Sam's face flushed bright red. "Dean! I told you he was stitching my leg."

"I was, but you're not wearing pants, Sammich. It wouldn't be that hard for me to get past that layer and get myself a mouthful of Sasquatch meat, but if that's what was happening, he wouldn't be able to speak properly. He'd basically be a quiver mass of hunter that would whimper and plead for more."

At these words, Dean laughed, Cas rolled his eyes, and Sam turned an even deeper shade of red as his eyes widened.

"Gabriel!"Sam yelped after he snapped out of his shock.

"Yes, Sammy?" The golden eyes turned their attention to him. Light and laughter danced around in the irises.

"No! I-I wouldn't... No! That... That wouldn't happen." He sputtered out.

"Why not?" The prince pouted playfully.

"B-because I have to protect you!"

"Yeah? So? Consider it a show of gratitude."

When Gabriel decided that this was the best time to wiggle his eyebrows, Dean collected himself enough to close the window.

After The prince stopped laughing, he took a deep breath and focused his attention back on bandaging Sam's thigh, but now it was different, whenever the prince would brush his fingers against the other man's thigh, he would tense, but Gabriel ignored the change, until Sam's constant tensness started to irritate the wound.

"Sam, I was just kidding. I'm not going to jump you in front of your brother and Cas. If anything, I'd wait until we were all alone. with a big comfy bed and soft sheets. I'd make it special." He looked up from his work to see the flush creeping up Sam's neck again. "Sam, I'm kidding. If you want me to stop just tell me. I get what 'no' means. I'm not like some royalty. I can handle rejection gracefully. If I'm making you uncomfortable just tell me."

"You're making me uncomfortable."

Gabriel's gaze dropped and he nodded as his chest twinged painfully.

"Alright, Sam. I'll stop." He said, his voice quiet as he went back to work.

A heavy silence descended over the carriage for a few moments, but it was broken when Sam sighed deeply and put his hands over Gabriel's, stopping the prince from working any further.

"Gabriel. I'm not rejecting you... I just... I am not good at the whole 'dirty jokes' thing... I like you Gabriel. I do. You're one of the kindest people I've met, but you hide it behind crass jokes and pranks... But... I can see the good in you. You hide the fact that you're royalty and you help people. I... I like that about you... And hell, you're eyes are amazing. And you hair's so soft. You make me laugh..." He shrugged. "I just really like you."

As the guard spoke, the prince felt his chest go from feeling like it was caving in to feeling as if it would explode with joy.

Sam opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, Gabriel's lips had stopped his thoughts in their tracks. After a few moments, the kiss was over, if you could even call it that. It was more of a sweet, soft caress of skin against skin. The contact sent sweeps of electricity through the prince, and going by the shiver that he felt race through Sam, he felt it too. The men looked deep into each other's eyes, their faces still only inches apart so that their warm breaths puffed together and intermingled.

"Woah." Gabriel breathed.

"Yeah..." Sam whispered back. "That was... Yeah..."

"Can we... Can we try that again? Maybe it was a fluke."

Sam nodded slowly as a smile spread across his face. "Yeah... I think I could be okay with that."

Gabriel chuckled and leaned forward slowly, but Sam seemed to get impatient and wrapped a hand around to the back of Gabriel's neck and pulled him down, careful to make sure he fell on his un injured thigh as their lips clashed together. Their teeth clicked painfully and their tongues battled. It was sloppy and breathless, but if you asked either of them later, it was perfect. They only pulled away when both of them were gasping for breath, and even then they only pulled away a few centimeters so that their breaths caressed each other's faces once again.

"I would say that wasn't a fluke." Gabriel said breathlessly.

"No... I would say it wasn't..." Sam said grinning.

Gabriel shifted in Sam's lap and suddenly his eyes went wide.

"Sam! Why didn't you tell me!" He yelped as he slid off of Sam's lap.

"I made sure you didn't sit on my stitches. I'm fine." Sam chuckled and reached around Gabriel's shoulders. He pulled the smaller man back to his side before kissing the top of his head. "Plus, even if you were, it's still numb. I wouldn't have felt it."

As Sam spoke, Gabriel's worry slipped away and he nodded slowly as he relaxed into the younger man's arms. "Alright, Sam... If you say you're okay..."

"I'm fine, Gabe." Sam murmured into his hair.

"Hey, Sammich?"

"Yeah?"

"You remember what I said earlier?"

"Which time?"

"You know, about what I said would get you the best response when you're calling for me?"

"Of course I do, sweetcheeks." Sam chuckled.

Gabriel grinned and burrowed closer to Sam's side. "That's perfect."

He nodded and yawned. "Yeah..."

Gabriel looked up at him. "You should get some sleep Sam." He smiled slightly and slid out of the warmth of Sam's grasp so that he could lean underneath the seat and pull out a large soft blanket. Sam smiled and pulled Gabriel back to lay against him as the prince spread the blanket out around them.

Gabriel chuckled and kissed Sam on the cheek. "Get some sleep, Sammich. What good is a moose guard if he's wounded?"

"No good." Sam said around a yawn as he wrapped his arms around the short prince and pressed a kiss into the sweet smelling gold hair.

"Exactly." Gabriel chuckled and yawned, the comfort and warmth provided by Sam's arms and body lulling him into a cozy, peaceful, and blissfully sleepy state.

After a few moments, both men had closed their eyes and fell into a deep, restful sleep.

-Handprint-

It had been a long day, but he was home. Falinta de Cielo was just as it always was at night. Quiet. Peaceful. Everyone there was still blissfully unaware that he was engaged, and he couldn't wait to change that. As he slid off of Charger's back, Dean took the reins and the other horses into the stables to rub them down, feed them, and water them. He nodded to Benny as he made his way back to the carriage door. It was quiet in there, and where Gabriel was concerned, quiet was suspicious, so he reached forward and knocked softly before opening the door slowly. What he saw made a small smile creep across his features.

Gabriel and Sam sat sleeping, cuddled up next to each other. Sam had his arms around the shorter man, and Gabriel had his face burrowed into Sam's shirt. As the cool night air flowed into the warm interior of the carriage, the two men shifted closer to each other as they tried to fight off the chill.

Benny walked up behind him and peered inside. The sight made him smile as well.

"Are you going to wake them up or are you going to let them sleep?" The captain asked quietly.

"I'll let them sleep. If I wake them up Dean will see them and will tease them endlessly. I'll just tell Dean that they've already gone up to their rooms."

Benny nodded. "And I'll wake them in the morning when I get up and report to your Captain to see where they need me."

Cas nodded. "Thank you, Benny. I'm sure Sam and Gabriel will appreciate your cooperation."

The last thing the two of them saw before they closed the door was Sam burying his face in Gabriel's hair and tightening his grip around the prince.

**(AN: So yay for Sabriel adorableness. I had way too much fun writing this and making it better for you guys. I really hope you enjoy it too. So, thank you all for favoriting/following. I'll try to keep up with my updating, but like I said before I'm going to be super busy over the next couple of weeks. **

**P.S. Reviews are my favorite weapons to use while slashing through sexual tension. **

**-Aj)**


	14. Chapter 14

**(AN: Hey guys, sorry it's been awhile since my last update. I'll try to get my updates back up to once every four days or so, but I've been super busy lately. I know it's a crappy excuse but I'm trying here. So, thanks to all of you for the amazing response to the fluff I posted right before I abandoned you for two weeks. It made me so happy, and also know that I will start working on chapter fifteen right after I'm done writing this chapter.)**

Chapter 14

He was woken up by a soft knocking noise close to his head, but he didn't feel like moving. He was underneath a warm fluffy blanket and there was a warmth radiating from where Gabriel was curled up against his side. Despite the crick in his lower back from sleeping while sitting up, he hadn't been more comfortable in years, and he really didn't want to get up. Not now... and possibly not ever, but the knocking next to his head continued so he forced his eyes open before he moved one arm carefully from around the short princes waist and opened the dark curtain that covered the window.

When his eyes adjusted from the pure black, to the dim light that came from the slowly approaching dawn, he saw Benny standing outside the carriage looking at him expectantly. Sam opened the door slowly, but the cool morning air still rushed in causing Gabriel to cuddle closer to him, still fast asleep.

"What's up, Benny? Are we there?"

"Yeah, brother. We're here. We actually got here last night, but you two were asleep so we let you sleep out here and told the night watchmen to keep a special eye on the carriage."

"Why'd you let us sleep? Dean normally wakes me up no matter what."

The elder guard chuckled. "Dean thought you two had made it inside by the time he got done caring for Impala and Charger. Cas is the one that found you two and he decided to let you sleep. He knew you both had to be extremely tired after the long day you had. Plus the two of us couldn't get over how adorable the two of you were all cuddled up together and comfy."

"Well shut up and let me cuddle my sasquatch if we're so damn cute." Came Gabriel's muffled reply as he buried his face into Sam's chest, trying to get back to sleep and away from the brisk morning air.

Sam smiled and stroked the Prince's hair. "Come on, Gabriel, we can go back to sleep after we go inside and get settled. I promise."

The blonde man groaned slightly. "But going inside means that I have to get up."

The younger man smiled slightly and leaned down to whisper into Gabriel's ear. "Come on, Gabe. We've got to get up. I promise that we can go back to sleep if you get up now. If not, I won't let you sleep because my leg will just refuse to quit hurting so that you have to take care of me, or if you want to get some sleep, you can dump me off on the local doctor. Either way, you won't get back to sleep nearly as quickly, sweetcheeks."

As soon to the nickname passed Sam's lips, the prince was scrambling out of the carriage, being careful not to put any strain on Sam's injured leg, but almost crashing into Benny as he stumbled out into the courtyard.

"Come on, Sammy. I always have the same rooms while I'm here visiting Cas. I can take you to them. They're at ground level so you should be fine, but we've definitely got to get you into bed as quick as possible, so come on, I'll help you in."

Sam chuckled and scooted out of the carriage slowly. He stepped out with him good leg and then leaned heavily against his prince. "Should I bring the blanket?"

"No, leave the blanket. There will be plenty of blankets in my rooms." Gabriel said hurriedly and turned the two of them towards the castle. He moved slowly and gently despite the urge to sprint all the way to his rooms.

When they got there, Gabriel helped Sam into a loose sleeping shirt and trousers before he pulled back the multitude of blankets and laid the taller man down onto the mattress. Once he was sure that Sam was comfortable, he crawled onto the mattress next to the already dozing guard and curled up against the younger man's side. It was only a matter of minutes before the prince was out once more, lulled to sleep by the steady thumping of Sam's heart.

-Handprint-

When Dean woke up, he felt the soft hair of his fiance tickling his chin. He grinned and pressed his face into the soft strands so that he could kiss the top of the other man's head before slowly untangling their limbs and getting up, being careful not to wake his sleeping lover.

He got dressed quietly and made his way to the door before he heard Cas groping the empty sheets next to his body sleepily.

"Dean?" He asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, Cas. I'm right here." The hunter said softly.

"Oh, where are you going?"

"I've got to go find Sammy. I want to see how he's feeling today." He said as he crossed over to the bed so that he could kiss the sleepy man gently. "Just go back to sleep, Cas. I'll be back once I'm sure that Sammy's okay."

Tired blue eyes looked up at him and nodded. "You better get back soon or I'll have to come looking for you."

Dean smiled and kissed the dark hair on the top of his Prince's head. "I promise I'll be back before you know it. Just go back to sleep."

The sleepy prince nodded again and laid back down. Dean smiled softly and pulled the blankets back up around Cas' shoulders before he kissed his cheek and made his way out of the room.

Once the door was closed behind him, Dean looked down the hall in each direction. Cas had told him the night before that Gabriel always had a set of rooms set aside for himself that was on the ground floor, but he didn't know where exactly it was, so, he decided he would get to that issue once he figured out how to even get to the stairs to that he could get to the ground floor.

After only a few minutes of searching, Dean found the stairs and made his way down to the ground floor. As he walked down, he passed people left and right, but he wasn't stopped until about halfway down.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The man demanded as a scowl crossed his dark face. He was wearing armor similar to Benny's , but with the crest of Falinta de Cielo on it, marking him as the captain of the guard.

Dean thought back to the night before. Cas had told him that he couldn't tell anyone that they were engaged until the king was informed of their relationship, and convinced that Dean really was worth his son's affections, so he just smiled pleasantly at the guard.

"I'm Dean Winchester. I came in last night with Prince Castiel as his guest. I'm just going around looking for my brother who is Prince Gabriel's personal guard. He was injured on the way out here and the prince promised to take care of him, so he should be in his highness' rooms, but I'm not sure where those would be other than somewhere on the ground floor. So, do you think you could show me where the Prince's rooms are?"

Dean knew he wasn't acting like himself, but he was in a good mood, and he didn't want to piss the guy off because then he wouldn't be able to get back to Cas as quickly as he wanted to.

The guard looked him up and down with his jaw clenched before he nodded. ''Fine. Prince Gabriel's rooms are on the ground floor next to the kitchens and pantry. The rooms used to be for servants, but he refurbished them and made them his own."

Dean smirked. That was just like the short prince. Gabe had positioned himself as close as he could to the food.

"Thank you, Sir..." Dean tilted his head. "I don't believe I caught your name. "

"It's Uriel." The man growled before continuing up the stairs.

Dean frowned and watched the man go until he was out of sight.

"What did I do?" Dean wondered aloud. After a moment's thought the hunter simply shrugged and continued down to go find Gabriel's rooms.

The hunter only had a small amount of trouble finding them once he asked someone where the kitchens were. Uriel was right, the ornate door was situated directly down the hall from the kitchens, and was just across the way from the pantry.

Dean knocked on the door lightly, but heard no sound from the other side of the door, not even after he knocked twice more, so he simply opened the door and walked in. The sight he found made him smile, and start to plan his future taunts as well.

Sam was laying flat on his back with one arm wrapped around Gabriel, who was laying next to Sam with half of his body laying over the uninjured side of the larger man's body. The prince had his face buried in Sam's shirt while the younger man's other hand was curled into the soft golden hair at the nape of Gabe's neck.

Dean chuckled slightly and walked up to the bed. He shook his brother's shoulder gently until he saw his eyes flutter open.

"Dean?" Sam asked sleepily. "What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing, Sammy. Just making sure you're feeling okay after yesterday. How does your leg feel?"

"It's fine, a little painful, but it's definitely not the worst I've been through."

"So you're okay?" The elder hunter asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dean. Just tired."

Dean nodded and patted his younger brother's shoulder. "Alright, Sammy. Go back to sleep. I just wanted to make sure you felt alright."

Sam nodded and yawned widely before closing his eyes and pulling the blonde-haired prince closer to his chest. Dean huffed in amusement and made his way to the door. He looked back at the couple on the bed and chuckled when he realized that Sam was asleep already.

"Kid must be tired." Dean said softly before he closed the door and walked back the way he came.

He reached Cas' rooms without any trouble and he kicked off his boots once he was inside. His prince was lying on one side of the mattress, curled into a ball with the duvet bunched under his chin. Dean smiled and crawled into bed. He wrapped his arms around Cas and kissed the top of his head as he pulled the smaller man's back flush against his chest.

"Dean, you're back sooner than I thought."

"I was only gone for about an hour, Cas."

"I know." The prince chuckled. "But I was expecting you to get lost."

"I would have, but I had Uriel give me directions."

The prince turned around in his arms and tilted his head. "Uriel? He doesn't normally trust people he doesn't know."

"Well, I told him I was your guest and he was helpful as could be."

Cas smiled sleepily. "Well, by tomorrow, you can tell people you're my fiance."

Dean grinned and kissed his true love's forehead. "Hopefully. It all depends if your father actually believes that we're 'soulmates' or whatever.''

"If he doesn't I'll just tear your shirt off and put my hand on the mark."

"I'm sure that will make a good impression." Dean chuckled.

"Maybe not," Cas yawned, "But you'll look sexy."

With that, both men chuckled and closed their eyes, letting sleep wash over them. They had a big day ahead of them, but for now, they were content with simply being in each other's arms.

**(AN: Yay! More fluff to signal my triumphant return! But seriously, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'll try to keep up my update speed.**

**P.S. Getting reviews are my favorite way to realize things, so please review.**

**-Aj.)**


	15. Chapter 15

**(AN: Oh My Gods, Guys. I suck. I seriously am trying, but when I have to be online to type it sorta sucks. I really hope you enjoy this chapter though, late in coming as it may be.)**

Chapter 15

Dean awoke to Cas nuzzling his chest. The soft scrape of stubble against his chest made him hum lightly.

"Good Morning, Dean." Cas murmured quietly, his usually deep voice, lower and raspier from sleep.

The hunter chuckled. "Good Morning, Cas. Did you get back to sleep okay?"

Brilliant blue eyes looked up at him and perfect white teeth flashed in a lazy smile.

"Yes, I did, Dean. As soon as you got back." The prince said sleepily before he buried his face back into Dean's chest.

"Cas, we have to get up. I have to meet your dad remember? I have to get up and get dressed. I have to be presentable."

"And you should bathe. You stink." Came Cas' mumbled reply.

Dean pushed the prince away from his chest and sat up.

"Fine, if I smell so bad, why don't I just get up and go get one of those pretty little maids to wash me up? I'm sure I could find one that would be willing to help me. One that has sweet smelling soaps and oils to rub me down with." Dean opened his mouth to continue, but he was pushed down into the mattress by a snarling prince before he could.

"If one of those maids even _thinks_ about laying a _f_inger on _any _part of you, sweet smelling soaps in hand or not, the least they will be worrying about is whether or not they get on the Head Cook's bad side, because they will be on _my _bad side." As he spoke, the Prince's normally calm blue eyes flared with something the younger man could only describe as possessive anger. After he was done speaking, he searched his fiance's bright, green eyes for understanding before crashing their lips together.

Dean kissed back eagerly before he pulled back with an easy chuckle.

"Cas, I'm only teasing." He kissed the Prince's neck as he pushed up on the other man's chest so that he could sit up once more. "I'd never give those women the time of day. You should know that. We share a profound bond or whatever. Soulmates and all that crap. "

"Crap?" The prince hummed as the hunter kissed his neck again.

"Oh yes, crap. It's crap, because it took almost twenty five years for us to find each other even though we had the heavens pushing us together. "

"I would say that resembled something along the lines of crap, yes."

The hunter smiled and ran a hand through his fiance's thick, soft hair before he got up and started to get dressed despite the protests the left his love's throat in the form of a soft whine that the prince would vehemently deny making if he was asked.

"Relax, Cas. You're just right. I do stink. Do you care to help me bathe? You know, so that you can help make me look presentable for your father."

The dark haired prince smiled. "I would love to help you, Dean."

-Handprint-

Sam had washed and dressed hours ago. He had let Gabriel sleep, but now he was on his way back to Gabriel's with a silver tray full of food since he had figured out that Gabriel was the type of person who liked to eat right when he woke up. Luckily (and unluckily) for Sam, Gabriel didn't like to wake up before eleven o'clock. In the evening.

He opened the door and was surprised to find the short prince was already awake (Willingly. Sam had purposely been quiet when he left so that he didn't wake the peaceful looking prince.) and getting dressed.

Sam smiled as he set the tray down on the table and leaned against the dark wood heavily.

The prince turned and frowned. "Sam, why are you up already? You need to be resting and healing."

"I'm a former hunter, and stable hand. Walking at a normal speed with no current chores or monsters trying to kill me _is _resting."

The prince shook his head and walked over to his guard and wrapped and arm around the taller man's waist before firmly leading him to the bed where he sat the younger man down and pushed softly on his chest until he gave in and laid down.

"Gabe, I'm fine. You don't need to baby me."

"Yes I do. We have to get up and moving a lot later today. So for now, you must rest."

Sam sighed. "Gabe, I know that we have to be there for Dean and Cas when they go to announce their engagement. I'll be fine. I just need to work the muscle to make sure it's strong enough."

"You need to rest your leg and let it heal." The prince insisted. "You rest, and I'll go get you something more appropriate to wear for an audience with the king." Gabriel smiled softly and ran a hand through Sam's hair. "Rest, or I will chain your gaint ass to the bed, no matter how perfect it is, and I would prefer that the first time I restrain you that it be for a lot more kinky purposes." With that, the shorter man pressed a quick kiss to his guards forehead before he disappeared out of the room, leaving Sam to stare after him with a soft smile.

-Handprint-

"Cas... Is this supposed to fit this way? It feels... weird."

The prince fixed Dean's hair carefully and smiled softly. "It always feels weird. You never get used to it. Why do you think I try to avoid wearing royal attire?"

"Because it is uncomfortable as hell?"

"Exactly, but on you it looks amazing." The dark haired prince smiled as he stepped back to take in his fiance's appearance before nodding shortly. "Yes, the green of the tunic make your eyes pop, and the trousers, while tight, show off your ass perfectly."

"And the scarf?"

"It's not a scarf..."

Dean raised an eyebrow.

"It's a kerchief." Cas said adamantly. "Trust me. You look great." He said as he turned Dean around to face him. "Dean. This will go amazingly. I promise."

The hunter glanced at the throne room door and swallowed nervously. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. My father will love you. "

Dean nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "Alright, Cas... If you're ready... Then I'm ready."

"I've been ready since last night."

The hunter chuckled nervously. "Okay... Maybe I wasn't ready then... But I am now."

"Good, because my father will be here any minute, and he'll be expecting us."

Dean nodded. "Alright Cas. Let's go."

The prince smiled widely and kissed his fiance lightly before turning and nodding at the guards who stood watch by the doors. The doors opened slowly and the couple walked into the throne room calmly. Deceptively so.

Dean saw his younger brother sitting in a small chair off to the side next to Gabriel who stood at his shoulder. Knowing Sam, Gabriel had to force him into that chair. The brothers shared an expressive glance, that, if Dean was being honest, calmed him down quite a bit. Not as much as the feel of Cas' arm wrapped around his waist, but the look did help. It let him know that his only family was right there with him...

"Woah." Dean breathed to himself.

Cas squeezed his waist slightly and looked over at him. "Everything alright, Dean?"

"Yeah..." Dean huffed quietly. "I... I just realized that if this works... I'm gonna have a lot more family than I did before... I've just always had Sammy... And occasionally Bobby..."

The prince smiled softly and nuzzled Dean's neck. "This _will _work, Dean. You have no need to doubt it. My father will approve I'm sure. He would want the marriage between kingdoms... But all he wants for his children is happiness. When he sees how happy you make me he will have no objections. I'm sure of it."

The hunter relaxed visibly at his love's touch and his words.

"Okay, Cas. If you say so I believe you." He said as the pair stopped just off to one side of the empty throne.

As the moments past, Dean became more and more tense once again. By the time the throne room doors opened once again with a blast of fanfare, the hunter was practically vibrating with nervous energy.

The king swept into the room and sank into his throne. He looked down from his seat as Cas pulled Dean into the center of the floor in front of his father, all the while rubbing soothing circles into the small of the hunter's back to calm him. The prince knelt in front of the king, and Dean followed suit.

"Castiel, I heard about Anna's engagement. I'm afraid I didn't know."

The dark haired prince stood and smiled brightly, surprising the king slightly. His youngest son hardly ever smiled, and if he did, it definitely wasn't the full out expression of joy that shone through his sons face at this moment. It was usually just a slight lift of the corners of his mouth.

"Father, Anna has been a dear friend of mine for a long time. Her engagement has only brought me happiness. She is happy, and so am I. "

"I can tell, Castiel... The question is why? And the other question is who is our guest?"

Cas looked over at Dean and his smile widened.

"Father, it is still before my twenty fifth birthday, yes?"

"I believe so, Castiel."

"So I still have the option of choosing whomever I wish to marry?"

"Of course, Son."

Cas nodded. "Then, father... I would like to introduce you to my soulmate and my fiance, Dean Winchester... I met him soon after learning of Anna's engagement... Soon after I was visited by the angel Anael who informed me that Dean and I share a... Profound bond. She told me that Dean has been marked for me since birth, and I have been his since then as well."

The king grew silent as he studied Dean intently before he turned his gaze back to Castiel. "How has he been marked for you?"

The Prince's smile widened. "Father, unless you want me to rip the shirt off of my fiance, I believe that you will just have to trust me for now. Trust my judgment, because if you do not, I will have no problem stripping this man from the waist up and proving my mark on him. "

The King's eyes went wide and he turned to study the man who had caused such a dramatic change in his son's attitude. A small smile spread across his face when he saw that the green eyed man's face had turned bright red (Dean was secretly grateful that the throne room was empty except for the five of them and the two guards by the door.).

"So, Dean Winchester."

"Y-Yes, your Majesty?"

"Do you have any family?"

"Yes, Your Highness. My brother Sam is just over there. He's Prince Gabriel's personal guard. My mother died when I was a kid, and my dad died a few years ago, but I have a close family friend named Bobby Singer who's like a father to me, and he's making our rings. He's promised to deliver them by hand once he's done."

The king nodded again. "Who asked who to marry who?"

Dean bit his lip. "I asked him... I think... He implied... but I think I asked first."

"And how did you two meet in the first place?"

"I met Cas after Anna's engagement party. He had actually had some fun for once, and I had to help Gabriel get him back to his rooms." As Dean spoke, his confidence grew little by little.

The king smiled faintly. "Dean Winchester."

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Do you love my son?"

The entire room went silent, but Dean smiled softly and looked into Cas' eyes.

"Yes, I do, Your Majesty. And... With your permission... I would love to marry this man... But even if you don't give us permission... I would love to marry him anyway."

The room went silent again as the king contemplated Dean's words. He stood slowly and stepped down from his throne. He circled around Dean before pulling the younger man into a hug.

"My name is Charles, but you can call me Chuck... Or Dad."

**(AN: So yes, finally and update and the conversation with Cas' dad. I don't know why but I've been feeling extremely fluffy lately. Especially when it comes to Sabriel. So I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**P.S. I forgot to mention it last chapter, but thank you to **_thiscouldbealittlemoresonic _**for the birthday wishes. I'm officially 16 now... so yay!**

**P.P.S. So, read and review because reviews are life just like Sabriel.**

**-AJ)**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Dean was shocked. The king, Castiel's father, was hugging him. The ruler of Falinta De Cielo had told him to call him dad. Not even his own father wanted him to call him dad. John Winchester had always expected to be called 'Sir', and Bobby, was always just Bobby, or 'Uncle' Bobby... But nobody had ever wanted him to call them dad before... He was, to say the least, dumbfounded. He stunned himself even more when he found himself hugging the older man back.

"T-Thank you..." His voice came out thin and raspy. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Thank you, Sire..."

"Dean," The king chuckled and pulled away to survey the younger man's face. "I told you to call me Dad. At the very least you may call me Charles if you feel it necessary, but even then I'd prefer Chuck."

Dean nodded slowly and swallowed hard. "Yes, of course, Si- dad. " Dean stepped away from the king and glanced over his shoulder at his brother.

The taller Winchester was on his feet, leaning heavily against Gabriel. The pair made their way over to the trio and stopped a few feet away. Dean smiled at his brother and Sam smiled back warmly.

"Hey, Dean?"

"Yeah, Sammy?"

"You're gonna be a royal."

The elder Winchester stood shocked for a moment before nodding slowly. "You're right, Sammy... And I think I'm gonna enjoy it too."

Sam smiled slyly. "So what happened to you thinking royals didn't know anything?"

Dean glanced at Cas and smiled brightly. "There are exceptions to every rule, Sammy, and I am really enjoying finding out what those exceptions are."

The younger brother smiled broadly and glanced down at the prince who was supporting his weight before turning his gaze to Castiel and the king with a nod.

"Yeah, I am too."

With that, the king smiled.

"And everyone will know soon."

Cas tilted his head. "How? The only people who know are the people in this room."

"I know, Castiel, but we have to make a royal announcement to the kingdom of your engagement. We also have to send messengers to other kingdoms so they'll stop trying to make deals for your hand, Castiel."

"Yeah, Cas." Dean grinned and kissed his fiance's cheek. "You're all mine."

The dark haired prince smiled and looked back at his father. "Make the announcement today. As soon as possible. Please. The sooner the better."

The king smiled with a soft chuckle. "Of course, Castiel. I will make it as soon as I can get the people gathered into the square."

Dean smiled. "Thank you, dad."

The king nodded. "Of course, Son. I will make sure you two will be as happy as possible as you can be as we prepare for the wedding."

-Handprint-

As he wandered the castle grounds on his rounds, a squire ran up to him panting.

"Captain, the King has given orders to gather the people in the square. He says it's an important announcement to make."

"What's the announcement?" The gruff guard asked solemnly.

"He wouldn't say. He just said to gather the people in the square as quickly as possible. "

The captain nodded. "Of course. Send three sets of fours guards out to the North, East, and south sections of the city. I will go west by myself. It's a smaller, rougher section of the city, and they will need an authority figure to... Encourage them to report to the square."

The squire nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll spread your orders."

The captain nodded. "Go. Now."

With that, the squire ran off, leaving the captain to glare around the surrounding area before discreetly slipping off of the castle grounds and into the western part of the city. He offhandedly passed along the order to report to the square, but the majority of his focus was on the task at hand. He had to tell his acquaintance that there was stirrings in the castle. Ones that could possibly have to do with Prince Castiel and his newest 'friend'. The urgent announcement had come soon after the Prince had gone to have a meeting with his father. Of course, his employer would not be happy that he didn't know for sure, but he would be pleased that there was news at all. It had been a long time since there had been anything other than bad news, and the captain had a feeling that this news would benefit him and his employer. He hoped so. If it wasn't something good there was a good possibility that he would be severely punished.

When he finally reached his destination, he was on the very western border of the village in front of a destitute, old farmhouse. His employer was inside , recovering from the wounds he had received only days before. It was an almost fatal hit, but somehow the man had managed to not get hit in the heart, lungs, or any major arteries between the two. The crossbow bolt had lodged itself between his ribs, but hadn't pierced anything vital. Although, if the captain hadn't come along to see how his employer's plan had gone, he most likely would have bled out on the path, ruining their plans for the Winchesters.

He knocked a quick pattern on the door (two sets of two short, rapid knocks followed by three spaced ones) before entering. He walked into the building, slowly checking each room as he went. He finally made his way to the last bedroom in the very back of the house, it was the only room left that still had a fully intact roof over it. It even had a musty mattress on a broken frame. This is where his employer lay. His torso was wrapped tightly with linens and he was deathly pale. His pale blue eyes opened when he heard the captain's footsteps approaching.

"What news is there, Uriel? It better be good if you've come all the way out here to wake me."

"Yes, sir. There's news... I'm just not sure what the news is."

"What? You better explain, Uriel."

"The king has ordered the people into the square. He refuses to tell anyone why until everyone has gathered in the square."

The man sat up with a pained groan and stared at his employee.

"We have to go and find out."

"We, Sir?"

"Yes, we. I want to know exactly what is going on first hand. I don't want some garbled second hand report. I will gather in the square like a good citizen of Falinta do Cielo, and I will hear what my father has to say for myself."

"But Sir! You're gravely wounded. You shouldn't be out of bed for at least another week."

"Uriel, you will do as I say, and I am say that you will help me to the square so that I can hear what my father has to say..." The former prince smirked. "Like the good son I am."

Uriel nodded. "Of course, Sir."

-Handprint-

Cas stood behind his father on the balcony with his arm around Dean's waist as his father stepped forward. Cas looked over at his fiance and smiled.

The man was stunning.

The early morning light shining on him made his forest green eyes shine and it illuminated the gold flecks in his irises, and the way it shone through his sandy blonde hair made him look like he had a halo of light around his head.

The hunter looked over at him and smiled when he saw Cas staring.

"What, Cas?" Dean asked chuckling.

"Nothing, Dean."

"You sure? You're staring at me. That usually means something's up."

The prince smiled. "You're amazing in the morning sunlight."

"Hmm, only in the morning sunlight? Because personally? I think I would look good in every type of lighting. Even complete darkness, but even then you would still look better than me. Especially in the morning sunlight."

"Dean, you will always look like you have fallen from your proper place among the stars to come down here and be with me. For no real reason other than you felt like it."

As they continued to tease each other the king began to address the crowd. Before they knew it, he was turning to look at them expectantly. "Boys, this is where you step forward so that I don't look like I'm completely crazy." The king whispered to them.

The two grinned at each other before stepping up to the railing of the balcony. The crowd stood in silence for a few moments before bursting into a roaring cheer as cas and Dean waved down at them. Cas was well known among his people, and well loved. He was known for wandering around town and actually conversing with shop owners and other citizens. He was polite, and the villagers who knew him well had always hoped that he would find someone to love, while the ones he was only acquainted with were just happy that he was happy. Happy royals usually meant happy times for the kingdom.

As the cheer went on, several whistles filled the air, and the shouts changed from ones of general happiness to ones that demanded for the smiling couple to kiss. Dean turned to Cas and smirked before wiggling his eyebrow suggestively, an expression he had picked up from Gabe.

"So, Cas. What do you think? Do we give the people what they want? Or do we walk away and disappoint them? Because I really hope that you chose that first option."

The prince flushed red before looking out across his people. The cheer got louder when he nodded slightly. The prince flushed darker before leaning in and giving his fiance a chaste kiss on the lips. It was hardly even a kiss, and not only was the crowd disappointed, but so was Dean.

"Oh come on, Cas. That wasn't enough. You've kissed me better than that when you've just woken up in the morning and you're still half asleep. Our first kiss was better than that. Is this just a sign that our kisses are just going to get more and more boring from here on out?"

This mocking sent a rush through the prince's body, and before he could properly process what he was doing, he had pulled Dean flush against his body, and was kissing the other man with everything he had, and Dean reciprocated, with everything he had. In fact, when they broke apart after several moments, it was only because they both had the (admittedly pesky) need to breathe.

After staring at his lover for a moment, Dean grinned widely and let out a low breath. "Well, you definitely know how to prove me wrong."

It was only then that the two of them heard the crowd roaring their approval.

"I think they liked that." Cas murmured to Dean as he turned to face the people once more.

Dean smirked. "No way they liked it as much as I did."

The shorter man flushed again before smiling sheepishly. "I'm very sure that that is not possible."

"Of course. I'm very sure that you're right."

Of course, neither of them noticed Uriel supporting a man covered by a dark cloak standing in the back of the crowd.

-Handprint-

He couldn't believe it. His little brother was marrying Dean Winchester. Dean Winchester. That made hat was going to be a fun family get together. He smirked to himself, and then scowled when he noticed said giant farther back on the balcony, beaming at his older brother, while leaning heavily against a shorter man, a man who could only be Prince Gabriel. He couldn't believe that little runt had stolen Sam from him. Sam was his. His and his alone, and that midget was not going to change that. Or his name was not Lucifer Novak, and he was not the most dangerous criminal on this side of the ocean, but he was, so Sam would always be his.

Always.

**(AN: See? I'm getting better. I'm still not as good as I used to be, but I meant to post this Friday... Forgetting that it was my friend's birthday party and I was spending the night at her house. So, hopefully you'll put up with my lousy excuses and read and enjoy. **

**P.S. Please read and review. I have no reviews to make witty (in my mind) references to in my plead for more reviews, so, please review so that I can get back to my favorite tradition.**

**-AJ)**


	17. Chapter 17

**(An: Okay guys, this is what I'm gonna do since my muse seems to be avoiding me (Hey look another crappy excuse!). I'm gonna change my update dates from as soon as possible (3-4 days.) to once a week. Every Monday. Usually around like 4 am because why not start the week off with some exhaustion? So yeah, thank you guys for encouraging me so much to keep writing and I promise you I will. I just need my muse to stop being such a bitch. So read, review, and enjoy this chapter.)**

Chapter 17

The next few weeks were bliss. For both Dean and Cas, and Sam and Gabe. Both couples were constantly busy preparing for the wedding in one way or another, but they were absolutely at peace while doing it. Whether they were having their robes fitted, or they were planning the security for the event. For the two couples, everything was perfect. Everything up until the day of the wedding.

Dean and Cas had decided to not see each other for a week before their wedding day, having decided that they wanted to look into each other's eyes on that day, and have that moment be special. Even though they had decided this, they still got Sam and Gabe to sneak them into an empty room, or a nook under the stairs to be together, even if it was only for a few moments before they were whisked away to make some sort or decision or preparation for the ceremony, and as they were both in their separate room getting the final adjustments made to their robes, they knew that the small moments they had together wasn't enough, and that they couldn't wait until the festivities were over and they could retire to their rooms and fall asleep in each other's arms...among other things.

Castiel had Gabe by his side and Dean was in his room. Alone. As the ceremony drew nearer and nearer, Sa had yet to appear, so Dean sent a page over to Cas' room to see if his little brother was there. When the man came back, Gabe followed behind him.

"What do you mean 'Sam's not here' ?" The short prince asked as soon as he got into the room. "He was with me just this morning. In fact, I wake him up by-"

"Gabe, I don't want to know, nor do I care, how you woke my brother up. I just want to know where the hell he is. He's been working his ass off to get this wedding ready on time and now he just ditches? That's not how Sam is. If anything, Sam would be right here. Right by my side. Especially today."

"Well I haven't seen him since this morning when he went out to go get me some herbs so that I could make you and Cas a special after ceremony drink so that you two wouldn't pass out before you got to... You know the real celebration."

"He went into town?"

"Yeah."

"When did he come back?"

Gabe frowned. "I don't know... Cas pulled me into his room to help him get ready... I don't know if he even did come back..."

-Handprint-

It had been perfect. He had had to wait weeks for the perfect opportunity, but this had truly been the best that he could possibly wish for. Sam had been alone, and armed only with a dagger and a short sword strapped to his side. He was completely unaware that he had been followed, and skillfully lead to a fruit stall, where the last of Lucifer's medicine women, a dark haired girl named Ruby, had prepared a special apple just for Sam. She had offered it to him, just like they had planned, and just like they knew Sam wound, he refused it at first, until she insisted, and said that she could spare an apple for anyone who made the man who had saved her father's life happy. Of course, in true Sam Winchester fashion, he was suspicious at first, but after she explained that she had seen him and Gabriel walking through market together, and recognized the Prince, Sam took the apple and bit into it happily, not even considering that he may have become just as cliched as those silly folk tales the Grimm Brothers where compiling.

After mere moments of biting into the juicy red fruit, Sam collapsed in an unconscious heap. The few village people who rushed to Sam's aid where shooed away by Uriel, who lifted the large body of the younger Winchester onto a cart and wheeled him to the farmhouse where Lucifer was hiding. With the medicine woman's help, he dragged Sam inside and tied the unconscious man's hands behind his back. After that, Uriel dragged Sam's body up onto the new bed that Lucifer had ordered him to make so that Sam would be comfortable.

Once Sam was arranged on the bed looking somewhat comfortable, Uriel brought lucifer in to sit on the edge of the bed.

The blonde stroked Sam's cheek and smiled tenderly. "He's so beautiful, and powerful. He and I could have ruled the world together, but he was just so stubborn." Lucifer sighed and gazed at the younger man's slack face for another moment before turning to look at Ruby. "Is it ready, Ruby?"

The girl's dark head bobbed in a nod. "Yes, sir. It's ready. The demons were difficult, but with the proper negotiations I was able to get them to give me more than enough herbs to make the base, and generous amounts of their blood to make sure the drug works properly."

Lucifer nodded. "Good girl, Ruby. I know it was a good idea for you to become a witch."

"Yes, sir, it was a very good idea. The demons enjoy my company very much, and the power they give me Is... Exhilarating."

"That's nice, Ruby. Now shut up and bring me the smelling salts and the first dose of the drug."

-Handprint-

Dean stood in front of Cas at the alter, and, as much as he loved the man in front of him, he was still worried that there was still no sign of Sam. Dean was snapped out of his thoughts when cas reached up and cupped his cheek lovingly.

"Dean? I know you're worried, but we have to go through with this. The guests are already here, and if you hadn't noticed, we're already at the altar."

The hunter's face softened as he pressed his cheek into the palm of Cas' hand.

"I know, Cas. I wouldn't put this off for anything... I'm just worried."

"Dean, if you want to we can leave the celebration early and go look for Sam."

"Please?"

"Of course."

Dean smiled as the dark haired prince dropped his hand. Moments later, the priest appeared and the ceremony began. Within the next hour, the two men were married, and ditching their own reception, with Gabe following right behind them, to go in search of Dean's younger brother.

The searched until well after dark, and found nothing. No one had seen Sam. Or if they had, they were too drunk to remember, but Gabe refused to quit looking until Cas finally convinced him that he would be no good to Sam if he was exhausted. So, with a supportive hand on both Gabe and Dean's back, Cas lead them back to the castle.

Dean went up to their rooms while Cas stayed behind to make sure that Gabe made it to bed. It was a struggle, but eventually Cas got his friend changed into night clothes and tucked underneath the blankets, but the shorter man kept tossing and turning about.

"Gabriel, you have to lie still and let sleep take you." Castiel said gently.

Gabe groaned. "Cas, I can't sleep. Not without Sam here. Not knowing that he's not here right now because of me."

The dark haired prince's brow furrowed as he looked down at his friend." What do you mean, Gabriel? Sam isn't missing because of you. If anything, you're the reason he'd come back."

"Sam didn't run away, Cas. He had to be taken."

"I know, Gabriel, and he'll fight to get back to you."

"He wouldn't have been taken if I hadn't sent him to town. Alone. I even rushed him out so he didn't have his armor or his sword. All he had was a dagger and a short sword that he insisted on taking."

Cas sighed and ran a soothing hand through his friend's hair. "Gabe, whoever took Sam has been planning this. They didn't just take him on a whim. If they didn't take him today, they would have taken his some other time. "

"But I let him go alone." Gabe groaned and buried his face in his pillows.

Cas sighed and tucked the blankets closer around Gabe. "If he hadn't gone alone, whoever took him would have taken you too, and then who would be sent out to find the two of you? "

Gabe sighed and rolled over onto his back. "Cas, what am I gonna do? I can't sleep without Sam here. Especially since I know he's in danger. I can feel it."

"You need to try so that you can search as hard as you can tomorrow." Cas said and stood up. "But for now you have to get some rest. Sam would want you to sleep."

With that, Gabe let out a long yawn and closed his eyes. "You're right, Cas. Sam would want me to sleep."

Cas stayed with Gabe until the shorter prince's breathing evened out and he fell asleep. Once he was sure that the other prince was in a deep sleep, Cas made his way up to his rooms. He was careful not to wake Dean as he changed into night clothes and crawled into bed next to his sleeping... Husband. He had almost forgotten that he had gotten married earlier that day. As he settled next to him, Dean curled closer to Cas' side and the prince wrapped his arms around the hunter before he pressed a kiss into the younger man's short hair.

"Sweet dreams, Dean." He whispered. "Sleep well, Darling, and don't worry about Sam. We will find him."

-Handprint-

The world spun around him in all shades of red, gray, and black. He knew someone was waving salts under his nose. Had he fainted? No... No he had been eating an apple... and then... and then what? He blinked hard a few times and looked around, trying to clear his vision. He noticed three familiar shapes in the room, but he couldn't quite put his finger on how they were familiar. Especially since his world was still so blurry and he couldn't make out the faces of the figures. Before his vision cleared, he felt a glass press against his lips and he realized that he was dehydrated and felt like he was dying of thirst, so he grabbed the glass and chugged the contents without questioning what was in it, until a bitter, coppery aftertaste registered in his mouth.

"What was that?" He groaned as he tried to sit up, but he was pushed gently back down.

"Be still, Sam. It works quickly, and you'll want to be laying down when it takes effect."

"What was it?" He asked the voice.

"Just something to help you calm down." The voice said soothingly.

Sam's vision cleared slightly and he was able to make out the face of the form hovering over him.

The face belonged to Lucifer.

Sam tried to sit up, but as he did his vision blurred again, with shades of blue and green this time. He fell back down onto the mattress and struggled weakly to get up.

"No." He groaned. "I have to get out of her-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sam was unconscious once more and lucifer smiled softly.

"When you wake up, you'll be so much better than you were before. You'll be perfect, because you're already so close as you are." Lucifer whispered as he brushed a stray strand of hair out of the 'sleeping' hunter's face.

(AN: TADA! I told you early early Monday! Don't hate me for hurting your babies, I'm sorry, I really am, but I couldn't guys still love me right? I still love you, so I hope you at least like me. So just, enjoy the chapter while hating me.

P.S. Please review, because I'm always suspicious of reviews that come too easily )aka, reviews I don't have to beg for.)

-AJ)


	18. Chapter 18

**(AN: Hey look, Guys! No crappy excuses for being late! Because I'm not! Hahahaha! Too bad I know you are all still mad at me for last week's chapter, but sorry, not sorry. Plot twists and all that right?)**

Chapter 18

(Six hours ago)

Where was he? Where was the man he obeyed, protected, even loved. Where was Lucifer? Where was he, and more importantly, what was the fastest way to get back to him?

Sam sat up and looked around. The room he was in was in was richly furnished and warm because of the roaring fire in one room seemed familiar somehow... like he used to know where this place was, but now... Now this room was just a blurry memory. Distant, and unwelcoming. He missed him room back in the farmhouse with Lucifer. It was dark and musty, but Lucifer always made it seem like it was their home. He didn't like this place.

-Handprint-

(5 days earlier)

"Oh, Sam. Wakey wakey."

Sam groaned and opened his eyes. The world was blurry, but only for a few moments. When his vision cleared he saw the most beautiful man in the world staring down at him. He smiled broadly and sat up slowly before reaching forward and cupping the beautiful man's cheek gently in his palm. It was only after he had done so that he realized that the other man was none other than Lucifer, the man who had ruined his life... and he also realized that he didn't care. He just wanted to be closer to him... He wanted to do everything he could to please Lucifer. No matter what the man asked, Sam knew that he would do it, just to make this man happy.

-Handprint-

(Now)

Gabriel sat on the other side of the hallway, across from his own door, listening to Sam shouting from the other side of the door. He held a raw steak to one eye... The black and swollen eye that Sam had given him when he had walked into his room to see that Sam had woken up. Gabriel had been ecstatic. So much so, that he had rushed forward and pulled Sam into a hug, only to receive a hard shove away and a punch to the face for his efforts.

The prince looked up helplessly when Sam started pounding on the other side of the door again. This time he was shouting about how he wanted out. How he wanted to get back to the man he loved. How Lucifer would kill them all if they didn't let them go. Gabriel dropped his head again and stared down at the floor. He didn't understand. Why did Sam want to get back to Lucifer so badly? Why didn't Sam want to stay? Hadn't he been happy with Him? Was he not good enough for Sam?

When the first tear hit the ground, Gabriel ignored it, but as his small frame started to shake with sobs, he felt a warm arm slide around his shoulders. He didn't care who it was that was trying to comfort him. They weren't Sam, so he didn't care, and he tried to push them away, but the owner of the arm refused to budge.

"Gabriel."

Oh, so the owner of the arm was Cas. He still didn't care, so he kept staring at the ground.

"Gabriel." The dark haired prince tried again. "This is not Sam. We have searched Lucifer's hideout and found what appears to be a drug of some sort. We are having out best scientist try to figure out a cure, but for now, whatever Lucifer has done to Sam will simply have to wear off naturally."

The smaller prince sobbed harder than before. "W-what if I-it never wears o-off?" He punctuated his sentence with a loud hiccup.

Cas rubbed soothing circles into his friend's back. "It will wear off, Gabriel. Judging by the amount of the drug that we found, we think that they had to dose Sam with it regularly. We are trying to find out more from the witch that we found there, but Lucifer managed to escape with the help of Uriel.

Gabriel hiccuped again. "Cas, w-what if Sam really does l-love Lucifer? He s-seemed pretty cert-tain that he does. He really wants to get back to him too. Maybe we should just go let him find the love of his life."

Cas frowned. "I highly doubt that Lucifer is the love of Sam's life."

"He is if you listen to Sam." Gabriel sobbed quietly. "All he can scream about is wanting to get out and away, and back to his love."

"He is here, and his love is sitting on the floor crying. Once whatever Lucifer gave him wears off, Gabriel, he will be right by your side, trying to apologize for that black eye he gave you."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, do you seriously believe that Sam would just magically forgive my brother for ruining his life? That man killed Sam's girlfriend and tried to make him one of the most notorious criminals on this side of the ocean. I don't believe Sam would just forgive him for that. Also you know Sam. He would never hurt you. Not unless he wasn't in his right mind." Cas rubbed his back soothingly again."I believe that as soon as Sam is back to himself he will be trying as hard as he can to apologize for everything that's happened. I believe he will never forgive himself for hurting you, no matter how much you tell him that it's alright, because that's just how Sam is."

Gabriel's sobs quieted and he looked up at Cas. "I know he's not like that... I just... He seems so sure that he loves Lucifer..." He hiccuped loudly. "He just seems positive."

Cas sighed."Gabe, he loves you. Can't you see that?"

"How would I know? We're not soul mates like you and Dean. We're very happy... Or we were, but he's never said that he loves me. He's said that I make him very happy, but never with the amount of passion that he has right now when he's screaming that he needs to get back to his 'love'. That he needs to get back to Lucifer."

"Gabriel, he loves you, trust me... He does. He's just not in his right mind. I'm sure he'll tell you over and over once he's back to himself. "

Gabriel sniffed and opened his mouth to respond when Dean came running up, splashes of blood across his shirt and pants.

"There was demon blood in that drug. It was an reciprocal potion and an obedience spell mixed with demon blood. The blood makes him less human, stronger, the obedience spell so that Sam wants to do everything for Lucifer, and the reciprocal potion takes whatever emotions, in this case, love, and transfers it to Lucifer. "

Gabriel frowned. "How do you know all of this?"

"Ruby. She was very talkative."

"S-so... What does that mean? How do we get him back to normal?"

Dean grinned. "We wait. Ruby said that they had to dose him with the drug every few hours to keep him from going back to himself. In a few hours he'll be fine."

"You're sure?" Gabe asked quietly.

"Unless Ruby was lying, which I highly doubt, he'll be fine."

Gabriel stood up suddenly and pulled the taller man into a hug.

"Thank you, Dean." He whispered into the hunter's chest. "Thank you so much."

Dean stood there awkwardly for a moment before hugging back, not used to seeing the short prince so vulnerable, but he hadn't seen so much of Gabriel since Sam went missing. Both of them had been scouring the town, looking for Sam, but Gabriel had had to be dragged back to the castle after nightfall more than once, because he refused to come back, eat, and sleep.

After Gabriel pulled away, they realized that Sam had gone silent on the other side of the door. Gabriel walked up to the door and knocked softly.

"Sam?" He called.

No answer. He opened the door slowly and saw Sam stagger around the room, holding his head. Gabriel rushed in and caught the much larger man before he crashed to the ground. Gabriel sagged under Sam's weight, but he managed to get the unconscious man onto the bed. He sat on the mattress and pulled Sam's head onto his lap.

"Gabe, you might want to be careful. If he wakes up he might go after you again."

The short prince looked up from Sam's face and shook his head. 'I don't care. I'm going to be here when he wakes up. If what you say is true, then when he wakes up, he should be at least a little bit better, and I am going to be here for him when he does."

Dean sighed and rubbed a hand over his hair. "Fine, Gabe, but be careful. He still might not be himself."

Gabriel wasn't listening. He was too busy running his fingers through Sam's hair lovingly. He took a deep breath.

"I have something to tell him when he gets up, and I want to be here. No matter what. I'm going to be here when he gets up."

Dean nodded and put a hand of Gabriel's shoulder. "Okay, Gabe, I'll go get your med kit for you from the Royal doctor. He should have refilled it by now, so you can patch Sam up when he gets up."

The shorter man simply nodded and kept running his fingers through Sam's hair, knowing what the guard had had to do to get Sam back to the castle. As Gabriel ran his fingers through Sam's hair, the prince found the large bump on the back of his hunter's head where one of the guards had hit him with a shovel to knock him out since they had specific orders that said to not hurt Sam, not in anyway that would be permanent anyway.

-Handprint-

Why was the world always so blurry whenever he woke up? He swallowed hard and went to shift on the bed, but he went still when he felt fingers in his hair. He rolled his eyes up slowly to see who was touching him. He smiled softly when he saw Gabriel looking down at him with tears in his eyes. He reached up slowly and cupped Gabe's cheek in his hand. He rubbed a tear off of Gabe's cheek.

"What's wrong, Gabe?"

The prince swallowed hard and shook his head. "Nothing, Sam. Nothing at all." His voice was shaky, but his smile was bright and it reached his eyes, despite the swelling around his right eye.

Sam frowned and softly brushed his fingers over the bruise.

"Who gave you this? What happened?"

Gabe bit his lip and shook his head. "It's not that big a deal, Sam. I'll heal."

"Come on, Gabe. What happened?"

The prince sighed. "You weren't yourself, Sam... Lucifer... Lucifer drugged you. Gave you demon blood. It's not your fault."

Sam's eyes went wide. "Wait, what? I did this?" He sat up quickly. "I'm so sorry, Gabe." He pulled the prince to his chest and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Sam. It wasn't your fault. You were drugged and cursed."

"Cursed with what?"

"Obedience to Lucifer... And he used a reciprocal potion."

"A what?" Sam asked, pulling away.

"An reciprocal potion. It take an emotion, and directs it towards the person who gave you the potion."

"Which emotion did he direct towards himself?"

Gabe's smile brightened. "Well... He took love this time... So he must have taken your love for Dean. Right?"

Sam shook his head. "Dean's my brother... and I kind of think he's an ass sometimes..."

"Then who was your love directed towards?" Gabriel asked, his smile getting wider and wider.

"Well... It could have been my love for you..." He said quietly as his face went pink.

"What was that? I thought I heard you say that it could have been your love for me."

Sam smiled, realizing that Gabe was teasing him. "Well, yeah, Gabe, of course it could have been. I do love you after all."

**(AN: Do you not hate me anymore? Because I'm pretty sure this is a good reason not to hate me anymore. I think so anyway. So, I hope you like this ON TIME chapter. Some fluff some misery, all goodness right? So read, review, follow, and favorite. Because you know you love me guys. **

**-AJ)**


	19. Chapter 19

**(****AN: Hey guys, It'll be later in the day by the time I post this, but It'll still be Monday. I promise. I've had a super busy week this week, and I am dead tired though, so there may be more spelling/grammar mistakes than usual, but I'm too tired to really care at this point, and I'm not going to be late with this chapter, so I'm just gonna write and see what happens... it's gonna be wild guys. Hold on tight.)**

Chapter 19

It took several days for Sam to get back to get back to get completely normal. Most of the time, he was himself, but other times... Other times remnants of the drug would flow through Sam's system, making him unpredictable and violent, but Gabriel always stood by his side, even as Sam threw punches and insults at him and screamed about how he wanted to get back to Lucifer. The Prince stayed by Sam's side and helped him stay calm until the drug wore off. Everytime this happened, Sam would feel worse and worse. Especially whenever he came to and found Gabe with a new black eye or bruise, but the shorter man refused to let Sam apologize, saying that Sam didn't mean what he did or what he said. That he knew what Lucifer had done to him, and that when Sam was screaming for Lucifer, that he was really showing the amount of love he had for him, even if it was directed towards someone else because of black magic.

"I don't deserve you, Gabe. I'm a danger to you." Sam groaned after his most recent blackout.

"No, you're not, Sam. The drug is dangerous, but you're getting it out of your system." Gabriel replied softly as he ran a hand through Sam's hair.

"How can you say that? I almost broke your arm this last time."

"But you didn't. You got control of yourself."

"But that was just luck. If I hadn't gotten control you would have a broken arm. As it is, I've given you some serious bruises. "

"But you did. You got control, and I trust that you will every time before you can actually hurt me. I trust you, Sam. You're stronger than the drug."

"Gabriel, you've got bruises all over, a black eye, that I've made worse, twice, and I almost broke your arm. Not to mention the fact that I tried to strangle you. You're not safe around me until the drug wears off completely."

The prince shook his head and kissed the hunter's cheek softly. "Sam, the drug is getting weaker and weaker. I've stuck it out this long, I can hold on for the rest of the ride. Plus, I trust that you can come to your senses long enough to keep me from getting permanently damaged." Gabe smiled and moved from one side of his mattress to cuddle into Sam's side. "Though I would appreciate if you aimed for somewhere other than my face. I have nothing if not my beauty."

Sam looked down at his lover with pain in his eyes. "Gabe this isn't funny. I don't want to hurt you at all."

Gabe sighed. He moved away slightly so he could cup Sam's face in his hands. "Sam, I trust that you won't hurt me. I don't believe that you could, even if the drug was pushing you to, kill me, or even would me fatally. So, since everything that you could do, won't end up with me dead, I'm staying right here. You're not getting rid of me that easily." The prince looked deep into Sam's eyes. "Understand?"

Sam nodded slightly. "Yeah, Gabe... I understand... But that doesn't mean I like it."

"You don't have to like it." Gabe said cheerily. "You just have to accept the fact that I'm not leaving you."

Sam smiled and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, pulling him back to his side. "Okay, Gabe. If you say you're not leaving me, I believe you."

"You better." Gabe chuckled and nuzzled Sam's neck before glancing outside. "You know, Sam. It's been hours since your last lapse. What if this is it? What if that was the last one? What if you're back to normal?"

"I hope it was the last one... I hate it."

"Hate what?"

"The feeling. The drug... It just... takes control. It tells my body that everyone but Lucifer is the enemy, and I can't control it. It seems like it especially hate you. Maybe because you're the person that I truly want to be with." Sam shrugged. "I bet Ruby could tell us."

"Tell us what?"

"Tell us all of the side effects and uses for the drug. We know what it did to me in basic terms, but we don't know what else it will do. I mean, how long will it take to detox from demon blood?"

"Nobody knows. Everybody that has ever drank demon blood has kept drinking it until it burned them out or the demons killed them for draining their brethren."

Sam nodded. "True... But I wish we knew."

"I know, Sam, but we'll be fine."

-Handprint-

Dean looked down at his husband. "My brother just got out of another fit. Gabe's with him."

"I heard... I wonder if Gabe's okay." The prince mumbled against the hunter's chest.

"I highly doubt that, even when drugged out of his mind, Sam would hurt Gabe."

"I know, Dean, but that was a powerful drug. He wouldn't be abl-"

"No he wouldn't. The drug is wearing off. If he was going to hurt Gabe, he would have done it by now. You don't need to worry, Cas. Sam loves Gabriel, no drug can make him forget that."

Cas opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by a knock at the door. Dean got up off the couch and made his way to the door, dagger held loosely in his hand.

"Who is it?"

"It's Bobby, dumbass. Open the door."

Dean grinned and swung the door open.

"Hey, Bobby. You ready to take your shot?" The younger hunter asked and he pulled a flask of holy water out of his belt.

"As ready as I'll ever be. You got the silver and the salt too?"

"Of course, but take your medicine first."

The elder rolled his eyes and grabbed the flask. He quickly took a swig and shook his head. "Can I have that silver blade I know you've got waiting for me now?"

Dean nodded and pulled a silver dagger from under his tunic. He held open his hand. "Arm, please. I get to do the cutting. No way I'm giving a possible shift a blade."

Bobby rolled his eyes and held out his arm. "Just hurry it up."

Dean shook his head and nicked the older man's arm. There was no reaction other than a slight wince from the older man and a small rivulet of blood.

After the test was done, Dean pulled Bobby into a tight hug. "Hey, Bobby. It's good to see you." I haven't seen you since you delivered our engagement rings just before the wedding. What are you doing here now?"

"I'm here to deliver your wedding rings."

"We already have rings, Bobby. They're amazing. You didn't have to make us new rings."

"Quit being such an idjit. You two need proper wedding rings. Those engagement rings are just hunks of gold. These rings are much better."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "How much better?"

"A whole lot better. These ones are personalized." Bobby said with a smirk. "A complementary set. One for you and one for your husband over there."

Cas smiled and got out of bed. He walked up nex t to his husband and looked at the older man. " , you didn't have to do this for us. We are perfectly happy with the rings that you made for us. They are beautiful pieces of craftsmanship."

The blacksmith rolled his eyes. "Those pieces of junk? Those are just placeholders. You two deserve something worthy of royalty."

Cas raised an eyebrow. "You've made jewelry for royalty before. It was always beautiful. Just like our rings are."

" Okay, fine." Bobby grumbled. "You two deserve something worthy of family. Now will you just shut up and let me give you your rings?"

Dean smiled. "Of course, Bobby. Lay them on us. We're ready."

The older man chuckled. "I don't know if you are, boy. I put some effort into these things." As he spoke, Bobby slung his pack off of his shoulder and walked to the table at the center of the room. He opened the pack and pulled out a silk drawstring bag. He turned to face the couple. "You sure you're ready to see these things? I made sure they were absolutely perfect, so if you two idjits screw them up I ain't fixin' 'em."

"I figured that, Bobby. You never did like to do anything twice. Just show us the damn things. Otherwise you'll build them up and then they'll not be nearly as cool as you make them out to be."

Bobby raised and eyebrow and smirked. "I don't think that's possible, boy."

Dean smiled and slipped an arm around Cas' waist as Bobby slowly opened the pouch. Cas fixed his eyes on the blacksmith's rough palm as he tipped the bag upside down and carefully let the two rings fall down into his palm.

The hunter heard his husband's breath catch as the two rings clinked down into Bobby's palm. One was silver with gold vines inlaid into the band and small green gems set into the metal itself and cut perfectly so that the top of the band was smooth. The other was gold with silver vines and blue gems in the same pattern. They were perfect compliments of each other, they couldn't be separated, or they would make absolutely no sense. They would still be beautiful, but they wouldn't be as... Mesmerizing.

Cas immediately reached for the gold ring. He picked it up gently and held it closely to his face so he could see it better.

"The gems are the exact same shade as your eyes, Dean." Cas murmured breathily. "And the gold the same shade as the flecks in your eyes."

Dean smiled and hummed in agreement as he picked up the silver ring. "The gems in this one match your eyes, Cas. Same as the silver." He chuckled and looked at Bobby. "You were right, old man. These are amazing. Too good for us. They'll get beat up and scratched. We won't be able to wear them in fear of damaging them."

The older man shook his head. "Just wear them, ya idjit. If you screw them up I'll fix them. "

"I thought you said you wouldn't do that?" Dean chuckled.

"Alright, you called my bluff, boy. Just shut up and look at the damn engraving on the inside will you?"

Dean tilted his head and lifted the ring closer to his face and turned the ring until tiny, curly script on the inside of the band caught his attention. He smiled as he read it over and over again.

"It's a little cheesy for you, isn't it, Bobby?"

Bobby smirked. "Might be, but the rings aren't for me, they're for you two."

Cas smiled and looked away from his ring with tears in his eyes. "It's perfect, Bobby. Thank you."

The blacksmith smiled. "Don't mention it, son. It was nothing."

"It's a lot." Cas said smiling. "I love it."

Dean grinned as he took his husband's hand and gently took the ring from him. "Am I allowed to put this on you?"

Cas nodded and looked down at their hands as Dean slipped this golden ring on his finger before taking the silver ring from Dean.

"Am I allowed to put this on you?"

The hunter nodded. "Of course, Cas." He said with a smile.

The prince smiled and carefully slid the ring onto Dean's finger, careful to keep his hands from shaking. Dean chuckled.

"You okay there, Cas?"

"I'm perfect." The prince smiled and kissed the hunter before looking at Bobby. "The rings are perfect. I love the inscription."

"I knew you would. Especially when I heard your story."

Dean looked down at Cas. "Well, you ready, my Angel?"

"Only, if you are,Righteous man." Cas smiled.

"Of course." Dean nodded. "Let's go see our brothers."

**(AN: Hey guys, I know It's late, but I hope you like it and I hope you read and review. Your reviews will hopefully make me feel better because I am getting seriously sick, so your reviews can be my medicine (along with lots of rest and actual cold medicine). So read, review, enjoy. Stop hating me guys. Please? With the fluff help you stop hating me?**

**-AJ)**


	20. Chapter 20

**(AN: Hey guys, I need inspiration. If I can't come up with something to happen then I might just have to end this fic. So, if you guys want something specific to happen, leave review with your thoughts, and I'll take it into consideration. As it is, this chapter is mostly going to be filler.)**

Chapter 20

"Hey! Cassie!"

The dark haired prince sighed and looked down at his best friend.

"Gabriel, must you insist on calling me Cassie? My name is Castiel, or if you must shorten it, I'd prefer Cas."

"Yeah, whatever, Cassie. I have something for us to do!"

Castiel rolled his eyes. "What do we have to do, Gabriel?"

The short prince grinned and pulled an envelope out of his pocket.

"You and your new husband are cordially invited to attend the Norse/Roche Royal wedding, to be held in Ĉefanĝelo La Kaŝi el."

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Why isn't it being held in La Palaco de sinteno? Aren't weddings normally held in the kingdom of the groom?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Anna wanted the reception to be held in our courtyard. She enjoys the flowers and greenery, so she told Balthazar that if she was going to go live with him, then she wanted to see her courtyard one final time before she moved." The shorter prince chuckled. "Balthazar agreed and then promised her that she could start her own courtyard garden in their palace, and make it look anyway she wanted."

Cas smiled softly. "Alright then. You say Dean and I are invited? What about my father and mother? Or Michael and Adam?"

"All invited, but they'll all receive their own invitations."

"Oh, alright. I assume you are attending? What about Sam?"

Gabriel grinned. "Of course he's going. I wouldn't dream of leaving that Sasquatch out of the party. He's going to be invited everything that I'm invited to from now on."

Cas chuckled. "You two have become quite closer, haven't you."

"That wasn't a question."

"I know." Cas smirked.

"Then what do you want to know?"

"I want to know how your relationship is going to progress."

Gabriel shrugged. "I don't know...We haven't really talked about it... But he loves me... And I love him."

"So are you two going to get married? Or are you simply going to keep doing this... Secret relationship thing?"

"Our relationship isn't secret."

"No one really knows about you two."

"Sure they do."

"Who knows?"

"You and Dean."

"Other than us."

Gabe bit his lip and frowned. "I... They'll know at Anna's wedding. I won't let him leave my side. I'll let everyone know that he's mine."

Cas chuckled."How are you going to do that?"

" I'll..." The shorter man worried his lower lip as his eyebrows furrowed with thought. Suddenly, his face brightened. "Cas, I have a plan. And I'm gonna need your help to go through with it."

-Handprint-

"Hey, Sammy."

"It's just Sam."

"Yeah, whatever, Sammy." Dean chuckled. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" The younger Winchester asked as he sat up in bed. Gabriel had sentenced him to bed rest for the next week. Until they were sure that he was completely better while Gabriel took care of him despite his protests.

"Hear that we are going to a wedding."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Who's wedding?"

"Gabriel's sister and Prince Balthazar of La Palaco de sinteno."

"Oh... No... I didn't hear that."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Really? I figured Gabe would be bursting at the seams to tell you as soon as he found out."

The bedridden man frowned up at his brother. "No... He hasn't said anything about any wedding."

The elder hunter shrugged. "Huh. Hey, Sammy?"

"Yeah, Dean?"

"You are totally in love with Gabriel."

"Well...Yeah." Sam blushed. "So?"

"So you finally showed it when that reciprocal potion had a hold on you. Sure you were screaming about Lucifer, but we all know you really meant it for Gabriel." Dean smirked. "It's actually kinda romantic of you think about it." He said teasingly.

Sam blushed a deeper shade of red and shrugged. "So?"

"So, what's with you two? Are you two gonna get hitched? Or are you just gonna sit around and make goo-goo eyes at each other while sneaking around behind everyone's backs."

"What?" Sam tilted his head. "We're not sneaking around. People know about us."

"Name two people who aren't me, Cas, or Cas' dad."

Sam bit his lip. "Well..."

"Exactly. Nobody knows about you guys. Not officially anyways." Dean shrugged. "Can you imagine what it'll be like at that wedding? In his kingdom, Gabriel's the most eligible bachelor out there. There's gonna be women throwing themselves at him left and right."

"He's mine." Sam growled as he clenched his jaw.

"Nobody else knows that." Dean shrugged.

"Then I'll inform them of that."

"How do you plan on doing that, Sammy?" Dean asked with an eyebrow raised.

Sam chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before looking up at his brother. "Hey, Dean... Where's dad's ring? The one mom gave him that he always wore on a cord around his neck because it was too small for him? The one with the sigils that would be ruined if he got it sized."

Dean smirked. "I think he gave it to Bobby for safekeeping."

Sam nodded, his brow furrowed in thought. "Good... Do you know if he's still here from when he dropped off your rings?"

"I'm not sure... Why?"

"Because..." Sam sighed and got up. "I need to talk to him... It's important."

-Handprint-

A week later, the four of them were arriving at the gates of Ĉefanĝelo La Kaŝi el. Cas and Gabe rode inside the carriage, chatting comfortably while their respective Winchester rode on their horses by the windows.

Sam and Dean dismounted before opening the door of the carriage and helping the princes to the ground. Dean and Cas shared a kiss, while Sam and Gabe simply stood beside each other, completely wrapped up in their own plans to realize that they were ignoring their lover.

They made their way inside to their rooms. Cas and Dean to their rooms, whereas Gabe went of to his chambers while Sam simply made his way to the smaller set of rooms he had been assigned the day he became Gabriel's personal guard.

Neither of them noticed that they were alone when they went to their rooms. They were too wrapped up in their own thoughts and plans to notice, but Dean and Cas did.

-Handprint-

"Hey, Cas, have you noticed the different between Sam and Gabe?"

The prince looked over at his husband and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Dean?"

"I mean, yeah, they're totally different people, there's a lot of differences between them, but have you noticed how differently they go about preparing to propose to each other? Sam's got a family heirloom and he's just trying to make himself look good enough for Gabe while just hoping that he finds the perfect moment to pop the question. Gabe on the other hand, is planning the perfect moment. He's got this ideal situation in his head, and he's setting out to create it so that he can ask Sam to marry him." He chuckled and shook his head. "If only they knew that they have nothing to worry about."

Cas smiled and kissed his husband gently. "They do not have the reassurance that we do, Dean. They don't have an angel of love bonding them together as soul mates. I can see how they might be nervous."

"I know, Cas." Dean laughed. "But still. You've got to admit it's a little funny."

The prince chuckled and nodded. "Yes, Dean, it's a little funny, but I think after tonight, they are going to be much calmer."

-Handprint-

What did the Gods hate him?

What did he do to deserve this?

He hadn't done anything nearly bad enough to deserve this... did he?

Gabe groaned and rested his face in his hands.

"There's no flowers, there's no candles, there's no lute player. There's nothing." Gabe groaned into his hands as he slumped further down onto the bench in the courtyard.

Everything had been going perfectly. The wedding had been beautiful, Sam had looked amazing, the food had been delicious, and the wine was perfect. It had given him this warm buzz of courage that had sent him floating on a cloud. Until he came crashing down when he made his way over to the one section of courtyard that was completely deserted. The one section that was his and his alone to do with as he pleased, but at this moment he felt like walking away from it and never seeing it again.

The area was beautiful on it's own, the pond was glass smooth with it's water flowers sitting peacefully on top while his fish swam lazily through the clear waters. His corner had a variety of rose bushes that were in full bloom. Gabriel had tended them by hand so that they were perfectly trimmed and all the blooms were both pretty and highly scented. He had put so much work into making it perfect, but it wasn't. There was supposed to be candles and wine and flower petals and music.

None of it was where it was supposed to be. It was ruined.

Gabriel groaned and slide off of the bench and onto the ground so that his knees were pressed up against his chest and his arms were wrapped around his shins while his head rested on his knees.

"It's ruined.'' He muttered.

-Handprint-

Where was Gabe? He had been around for the entire wedding, but during the reception he had disappeared. He wandered through the courtyard until he heard a groan from behind a hedge. He turned around the corner just in time to hear Gabe groan again.

"It's ruined."

"Gabe?" Sam asked tentatively. "Are you okay?

The prince's head shot up off of his knees and his eyes went wide. "Sam? What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for you. I found you." He said teasingly with a soft smile.

Gabe swallowed hard and shook his head. "Yeah, you found me, Sam."

Sam nodded and looked around. "Wow, Gabe. This place is amazing. It's so beautiful." As he spoke he walked around the area.

"It's not as beautiful as it should be." Gabe groaned as he placed his head back on his knees.

Sam frowned and sat down next to his lover. He wrapped an arm around the smaller man's shoulders and pulled him closer.

"Gabe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Sam... I just... I had a plan. It was going to be perfect.. But now it's ruined."

Sam tilted his head. "How could it be ruined? This place is beautiful."

Gabriel sniffed. "It was supposed to be a hundred times better."

Sam smiled softly and kissed the top of Gabe's head. "Gabriel, this place is amazing. The roses are amazing. The air is sweet and look at the way the moonlight glints off the pond. It's amazing. Did you do all of this, Gabe?"

The prince nodded and looked at Sam. "Yeah."

"That's amazing, Gabe. I don't know how this could get any better... well.. I do actually... You could stop crying." Sam bit his lip and pulled a silk pouch out of his pocket. "I know now might not be the best time for this, but it might cheer you up a little bit... Well... If you say yes it will." Sam opened the pouch and shook a ring out into his palm. "Gabe, I know right now isn't the perfect time, but there really is no such thing as a perfect time. So, Gabriel Norse... Will you marry me?"

As Sam spoke, Gabe lifted his head off of his knees and his eyes went wide. As he watched his hunter speak, he found it adorable that he was so nervous. When he realized what Sam was saying he burst out laughing.

He stopped laughing when he saw the look of hurt on Sam's face.

"Sam, Sam. I'm sorry. Of course I mean yes. I just... I'm laughing because the reason I'm upset..." He swallows hard and pulls a pouch out of his own pocket. "The reason I'm upset is because I was trying to make the perfect moment to ask you to marry me." He shook the ring out into his palm and smiled up at Sam.

Sam smiled broadly. "I think you know my answer."

"Is it no?" Gabe teased.

Sam rolled his eyes and kissed the prince. "Of course it's yes, Gabe."

The two men smiled and slid the rings on the other's finger. Gabe looked down at his ring and smiled broadly.

"Where did you get this?"

"It was my father's. My mother was a hunter before my parents got married. She gave that ring to him for protection, but it was too small for him, so he wore it on a cord around his neck so that he didn't mess up the sigils by getting it sized." Sam smiled and kissed the prince gently. "And now it fits on you perfectly."

Gabe smiled. "It's amazing."

Sam looked down at his ring. ''Where'd you get this ring?"

"Bobby made it for me... He's working on our wedding rings right now."

"Wait, Bobby knew that you were gonna propose?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because Bobby knew I was gonna propose too. Did Cas and Dean know?"

"Yeah..." Gabe shook his head. "Damn, they tricked us into proposing to each other."

Sam smiled. "I'm glad they did." Sam got up and held his hand out for Gabe. "Come on. Let's get back to the party."

The prince smiled up at his fiance and let himself be lifted up to his feet. "Of course. I want to let everyone know that you're mine."

Sam grinned. "You know, I want to do the exact same thing."

-Handprint-

The two men had the night of their life. They didn't make an announcement. They just basked in their own private joy. They politely brushed off all the ladies that approached them with explanations of their situation. When they told Cas and Dean, there were cheers of "friggin' finally!" And "I'm glad you two figured it out". Afterwards, Sam smacked Dean upside the head for tricking them into proposing to each other.

After that, they simply wandered through the party, drinking wine and making merry. As the night wound down, they stumbled back into the castle and up to Gabriel's rooms, but before they got there, they were stopped by the captain of the guard.

"Samuel Winchester?"

Sam smiled and nodded.

The man nodded and held out a parchment that was sealed with the royal crest. "You've been called."

Sam tilted his head and took the parchment. "Called? Called for what?"

"The war. You are a man over the age of fifteen of sound mind and body that is not of royal blood or has married into the family."

Sam frowned and broke the seal. "What war?"

"War has been declared between Ĉefanĝelo La Kaŝi el and Infero Kastelo because of a treaty that has been violated."

"How was it violated?"

"The border was marked improperly and the trade embargo was not properly executed. It was an honest mistake, but the royal family in Infero Kastelo has been wanting an excuse to go to war for decades." The man shook his head solemnly. "It's a solid order. You are to report to the barracks in the morning so that you can move out with the rest of the troops."

Sam nodded and swallowed hard. "Yes, Sir... I'll be there."

The man nodded and moved past them, leaving the two men that had just spent the last few hours drinking to their newfound bliss, completely sober.

**(AN: Hey guys, sorry not sorry about this. I wasn't expecting this at all so... Yeah. Read, review, and keep hating me. I know you guys are still mad at me, so I might as well just keep the hate flowing. I love you guys, but you can hate me for now.**

**P.S. Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy during finals week, so please leave your thoughts and reviews, even if you hate me right now.**

**-AJ.)**


	21. Chapter 21

**(AN: Hey guys, I totally spaced this chapter because I'm a terrible author. I am so sorry, but school's almost over, so not next Monday, but the Monday after that, my updates should be coming ) **

Chapter 21

"Sam, you can't go."

The taller man slung his bag over his shoulder and sighed deeply. "Gabriel, I have to. You know that. I have to go now. I'm already running late." Sam sighed and shook his head. He pulled Gabe into a tight hug. "I'll come back to you. I promise."

"You better be in one piece." Gabriel mumbled against his chest.

"I will be. I'll always come back to you. Always."

With that, he placed one final kiss on his prince's lips and left to join the rest of the recruits down in the courtyard.

Gabriel watched the mass of new soldiers from the window, and within the hour... His fiance was gone.

-Handprint-

The training was hard, but as a former hunter, it turned out to be easier than he had thought it would be. He advanced through the ranks as soon as he was recognized for his battle planning and fighting skills.

Before long, Sam had been assigned as a recruit trainer, under slight supervision of course, but the real leaders had better things to do than train farmers to properly handle a sword. There was a war going on, and their enemy had been preparing for this for years. The enemy forces were stronger, better trained, and more numerous. All they had been waiting for was an excuse to declare war. When there had been an honest mistake, Queen Abadon had taken advantage of it.

Sam thought of that everytime he called his squad into formation. Every time he ran a drill. Every time he moved and felt his ring thump against his chest from it's place on a leather strap under his shirt. He thought about it every time a new wave of recruits showed up. Basically, he thought about it constantly, especially on the day a few months after he started train. The day that he was watching the new recruits arrive and he turned away, he couldn't stand the sadness on their faces anymore. He was about to walk away when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind and squeeze his middle tightly and a face nuzzle against his back.

He pulled out of the grasp quickly and turned around, ready to reprimand whoever dared to take such familiarity with him, but his mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide when he saw who it was that had been hugging him.

"Gabriel? What the hell are you doing here?"

The prince grinned happily and pulled Sam into a tight hug.

"Seriously, Gabe, what are you doing here? This is a war zone."

"Yeah, I know, and I'm a crowned prince who wants to 'support his people' in this war." The shorter man snuggled closer to his fiance.

Sam sighed and stroked the shorter man's hair. "Gabe, you shouldn't have come out here."

"Sam, I missed you. "

"I missed you too, but this place is dangerous."

"I know, Sam, but I'm a prince. I'm more dangerous than you might think. I've been trained for battle since I could hold a sword." Gabriel smiled and kissed Sam on the cheek. "I'm small, but deadly."

The hunter shook his head and looked down at the smaller man. "Gabe, I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't."

"How do you know that?"

Gabriel smiled."Because you'll be here to protect me."

"Come on, Gabe, I don't even know if I can keep myself safe." Sam sighed.

"I can keep you safe and you can keep me safe. That's what partners do. They watch each other's backs."

Sam took a deep breath. "Gabriel, I love you... I just want you to be safe."

"I know, Sam, but I want to be happy, and I'm happy with you, so I'm staying here."

Sam went quiet for a long moment before nodding slowly. "Okay, fine, but you stay out of harm's way okay? I've gotten myself assigned to train recruits. So you can probably so the same thing... They always need more people to train the others."

"Good." Gabriel smiled brightly. "Can I get my 'Hello, Gabriel'/ 'I haven't seen my fiance in over two months' kiss? "

Sam cracked a smile and nodded. "You can get a kiss whenever you want, Gabriel."

The prince grinned and went up on his toes as the hunter picked him up so that their lips could lock together in a passionate kiss. It went on and on, until both of them had to break away for air.

Sam set Gabriel down and they rested their foreheads together. Their breaths mingled as they panted, trying to catch their breath.

"Was that good enough?" Sam asked breathlessly.

Gabriel tilted his head thoughtfully. ''Hmmm... I don't know... We might have to do it again just to be sure."

With that, Sam grinned and they kissed again. Longer this time, but their smiles were just as genuine afterwards.

"Gabe, you do realize that this is an incredibly bad idea right?"

"Yeah, I know, Sam... But I had to know that you were okay."

The taller man shook his head and smiled down at his love. "Well, Gabe, since you're here, you'll need a leather strap."

"What for?"

Sam smiled and pulled his ring out from under his shirt. "Because, if you wear your ring it'll get damaged or lost." Sam tucked the ring back underneath his shirt and smiled. "Come on, we can go and get one for you right now."

The prince smiled and nuzzled Sam's neck. "Let's go. We've got a big day ahead of us."

**(AN: Sorry this chapter is so short guys, but I'm so tired and I really have no idea what to do with this chapter. Like I said before. I could really use some ideas on how to continue this. I did enjoy that **_**thiscouldbealittlemoresonic **_**had the same idea that I did. I like it when my ideas are validated by reviews. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. If you want, leave a review spitballing ideas at me. Please, my brain is dead.**

**-AJ) **


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